Cruise company faces huge payout

A CRUISE company whose negligence led to the death of a crew member in a Port Otago gascylinder explosion may have to shoulder a huge bill.

Emerald Princess, operated by the Bermudanregistered firm Princess Cruise Lines Limited, was docked at Port Otago on February 9 last year carrying 3115 passengers on a tour between Australia and New Zealand.

Allan Alarde Navales died after topping up a nitrogen cylinder, something he had never been formally trained for.

Princess Cruise Lines subsequently pleaded guilty to a charge under the Maritime Transport Act and came before the court yesterday for sentencing.

Judge Phillips heard submis

sions from counsel on both sides but reserved his decision as to penalty.

The charge carries a maximum fine of $100,000 but the judge may award reparation outside that.

Prosecutor Dale La Hood said Mr Navales’ family lived in poverty in the Philippines and his wages were a significant crutch for them.

He told the court the victim had a sick mother, a sibling with an intellectual disability, one with a hole in their heart and a sister who was now caring for two children alone.

Mr La Hood argued the reparation figure should be more than $800,000.

While docked, Emerald Princess’ crew members were tasked with checking the pressure of nitrogen cylinders — used to launch lifeboats in the event of an emergency.

Mr Navales and Bernabe Santos carried out the maintenance work on boat 24, filling the canisters to the required level.

Once it had been refilled, Mr Navales instructed Mr Santos to start the hydraulic system.

After a minute of operation, one of the cylinders exploded.

Mr Navales, standing beside it, was killed.

Judge Kevin Phillips told the Dunedin District Court yesterday the staff had not been trained how to do that aspect of the job.

The force of the blast caused another nitrogen container to be thrown on to the wharf.

It spun around in an area where passengers and crew were walking but noone else was injured, court documents said.

After a Maritime New Zealand investigation, Princess Cruise Lines was charged with causing a maritime product to be maintained or serviced in a manner that caused unnecessary danger or risk to other people.

An inspection of the failed cylinder on board the cruise liner found clearly visible areas of corrosion, ‘‘significant wastage and pitting’’. Other nitrogen canisters on board also showed evidence of heavy wear. The cylinder that exploded had a thickness of 1.52mm in the failure area, compared to new ones that were 6.2mm thick.

Defence counsel Matthew Ferrier accepted the company’s shortcomings and acknowledged on their behalf the anguish caused to the victim’s family but disputed the reparation amount.

The court heard the faulty cylinder was inspected by the maker three weeks before the incident. While it accepted the cylinders were aged, they were considered ‘‘fit for purpose’’.

The manufacturer could not be prosecuted for jurisdictional reasons, the prosecutor said.