Vessel ran aground on autopilot while skipper slept

A Nelson skipper has been heavily fined after a boat on autopilot ran aground while he was asleep.

Tony Phillipson was sentenced by Judge David Ruth in the Nelson District Court yesterday on a charge of failing to maintain a proper lookout.

The Mistral ran aground in Golden Bay while under Phillipson’s watch in July 2021, after he put it on autopilot and then fell asleep in the wheelhouse.

The vessel became wedged between rocks near Grey Cliff. It suffered serious damage and could not be salvaged in its entirety.

In a press release shared by Maritime New Zealand, Judge Ruth noted that Phillipson had caused $250,000 in uninsured losses from the Mistral running aground.

Southern Compliance manager Domonic Venz said that even when an autopilot was set up and the course was plotted, the skipper needed to pay attention and monitor the course the vessel was on.

‘‘Sadly, this didn’t take place on the Mistral, as Phillipson fell asleep.’’

Venz said the failure to properly keep watch could increase the risk of a vessel being involved in a collision or running aground.

Keeping a good watch was ‘‘critically important’’ for skippers, as the safety of everyone on the vessel was in their hands, he said. ‘‘A proper lookout should be maintained at all times.’’

Phillipson was sentenced under the Maritime Transport Act and was fined $3000.

The Mistral required a three-month salvage operation, with around 200 litres of heavy oil and hydraulic fluid being drained from its tanks, and about eight tonnes of hazards removed.

Tasman District Council communications officer Chris Choat confirmed that the hull was still on the rocks near Grey Cliff.

In 2009, Phillipson was fined $2000 for using a trawl net in the Separation Point area, and in 2006 he was fined $15,000 for fishing in a marine reserve.

In 2004, Phillipson was convicted of three charges under the Maritime Transport Act, following the sinking of the fishing boat Alfred after it hit a barge in Golden Bay. Crewman Michael Bowler drowned in the incident.