What happened

The incident occurred on the night of November 9, 2017, as the Kea sailed from Auckland’s CBD for the routine trip to Devonport’s Victoria Wharf with 52 passengers.

But during the final stages of its voyage the more than

30-year-old ferry veered suddenly to starboard and hit the pier.

The collision jolted the standing passengers waiting to disembark and threw one woman from the top of a stairwell.

She hit her head on the deck, was knocked unconscious and suffered head trauma, brain bleeding, and a fractured rib.

Since the crash, she has been plagued by a lung infection, headaches, fatigue, memory lapses, persistent cognitive difficulties and has been unable to return to work.

After the Herald’s reporting of the case another victim also came forward, having suffered a concussion and shoulder injury in the crash.

The Kea was being helmed by veteran skipper but trainee Kea master Alan Schofield that night. He was under the supervision of the highly experienced Paul Slater, court documents show.

The 2017 crash involved the same ferry and same wharf which also saw Fullers convicted, fined nearly $40,000 and ordered to pay almost $100,000 to victims of a February 2015 incident.

After the 2015 crash — due to a system failure — Fullers decided only retrained and experienced masters would operate the ferry due to its design flaws, which include lower visibility during the final stages of an approach. Despite this, Schofield had only 5½ hours of berthing training while the Kea was not in service, the court earlier heard, which was less than masters received during retraining.

When Schofield lined the Kea up with the Devonport wharf after 9pm on November 9, Slater believed it was perfect and at the correct speed, court papers obtained by the Herald read.

Neither, however, were able to react in time before the ferry crashed.

Another incident, in May

2009, also saw the Kea helmed by a trainee master hit the Devonport wharf, causing a passenger to fall down the stairs and be knocked unconscious.