[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]New Zealand’s maritime authority has shared that a review of coastal navigation safety found that there is a “sound framework in place” to manage the movement of ships around the country’s coastline.
The review, which started in April last year, was prompted by an anticipated increase in the number of ship visits to New Zealand, a trend toward larger ships, and technology changes in navigational aids, according to Keith Manch, director of Maritime NZ.
“Previous studies have indicated that ship volumes and other existing hazards around New Zealand do not meet international criteria for imposing shipping lanes or mandatory routes and the review indicates that this is still the case,” Manch said.
“Incidents like the Rena grounding would not necessarily be prevented if shipping lanes were in place – in the case of the Rena, poor watch-keeping and navigation were identified as key contributing factors.”
The review also followed a Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) recommendation following the grounding of Rena that Maritime NZ collect data on shipping movements around the New Zealand coast, and monitor and control the use of virtual aids to navigation around the coast.
Manch pointed out that recent access to ship tracking data based on ships’ Automatic Identification System (AIS) enabled Maritime NZ to examine the routes taken by ships.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
