Inquiry finds Navy vessel grounding avoidable

By: Dana Kinita | Upper North Island News | Wednesday October 24 2012 17:04

The Navy has admitted that the grounding of one of its vessels in Northland could have been avoided.

Findings from a court of inquiry have been released involving a VIP Barge that became stranded on a reef off Tutukaka in February.

The incident has been blamed on several factors including lack of crew training in using the navigation system, out of date procedures involving coastal passages and wind and sea conditions on the day.

Captain Corina Bruce, commanding officer of the HMNZS Philomel, says they did not meet the high standards for operating small boats and the incident was simply not good enough.

She says their navigation system and training has been updated in accordance to the inquiry's recommendation.

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