By Charlotte Tonkin
Maritime New Zealand says both captains were to blame for the collision between a Japanese whaling boat and the protest vessel the Ady Gil early this year in the Southern Ocean.
But neither will be prosecuted.
The January collision left those on board the Ady Gil diving for safety, and sheared 3.5m off its bow.
But MNZ says neither vessel deliberately rammed the other, and both captains are to blame.
"Both masters had the responsibility to ensure the safety of their vessel and their crew," says Bruce Anderson.
"Both masters failed to do that."
The report, which took 11 months to prepare, says both parties had different obligations at different stages of the event.
"The Ady Gil had the responsibility at the last point to avoid the collision, but in the initial part the Shonan Maru had the responsibility to keep clear," says Mr Anderson.
The captain of the Ady Gil, Pete Bethune, says that vindicates him.
"It talks a lot about us keeping a better watch," he says, "but when you are an 18 tonne vessel you don't expect an 800 tonne vessel to line you up and run you over.
"But I accept in hindsight we could have done it differently."
MNZ chose not to prosecute Mr Bethune and it cannot take legal action over the Japanese crew because it was a foreign vessel in international waters.
"I was nearly killed," Ady Gil helmsman Jason Stewart. "I was 3m from death. I was nearly killed down there and it seems like nothing is going to happen over it."
But this whaling season there may be a New Zealand Navy presence in the Southern Ocean, and MNZ hopes its report will help deter a repeat of such hostile activities.
3 News
source: newshub archive
