TAIC opens inquiry into the grounding of the Austro Carina at Banks Peninsula

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission has opened an investigation into the grounding of a fishing boat off Banks Peninsula.

The Austro Carina ran aground while fishing close to shore at Red Bay on the eastern side of the peninsula, the commission said. All four crew members were winched to safety by a rescue helicopter.

The commission said two investigators would travel to Canterbury to interview the crew and examine the boat.

Maritime New Zealand is also investigating how the 25-metre vessel crashed into rocks.

The boat was carrying about 10,000 litres of diesel and 400 litres of hydraulic oil, threatening endangered species including little blue penguins, hoiho/yellow-eyed penguins and seals.

The rugged and remote coastline is hindering the response effort, with weather conditions forecast to deteriorate over the next few days.

Environment Canterbury (ECan) on-scene commander Emma Parr told Morning Report the coastal access was difficult.

"There's very minimal access to the site so we are having some trouble containing the spill. We're heavily focused on observing and assessing the implications and minimising the impact on the environment there."

ECAN was carrying out aerial observations of the site from Tuesday morning.

Parr said the oil appeared to be dispersing "quite well".

"We do suspect that there will be a slow release of oil as the vessel is damaged, particularly over the coming days with the severe weather.

"But current observations are just showing us a slow release of fuel and hydraulic oil, the behaviour and the look of the oil on the water suggests that a bit of both has been released."

A Banks Peninsula hapū said they are concerned as to why a commercial vessel was so close to such a "sensitive" environmental area in the first place.

Te Rūnaka o Koukourarata chair Mananui Ramsden told Morning Report plenty of questions needed to be asked.

"The whole thing is sensitive, the whole thing is significant" he said.

"Once we have an impact on the variety of species that call that place home, particularly like the hoiho, which are really really struggling at this point in time.

"The question I have is what's next?"

Ramsaden hoped the situation was not a repeat of the Rena oil spill off the coast of Tauranga in October 2011, described as the country's worst maritime environmental disaster.

Pōhatu Penguins wildlife tour company co-founder Shireen Helps told Nine to Noon they had always been worried about potential disasters close to the sanctuary.

Helps said there were about 1000 breeding pairs in the kororā/little blue penguin colony on its land at Pōhatu Flea Bay, along the coast from the grounded boat.

"There's always been the possibility of disasters like this and this has been one we've really been worried about," she said.

Helps said if baby chicks were affected they could lose an entire breeding season.

The Department of Conservation (DOC) Mahaanui operations manager Andy Thompson told Nine to Noon some species would be affected.

"Seals probably will be impacted because they'll end up swimming through some of the contaminants, not just the liquid contaminants but things like fishing nets and equipment that's on board those vessels that's potentially ended up in the sea as well."

Thompson said there was little chance for crews to contain the spill in such a rugged area of coastline.

Diesel fumes had had been whirling in the Banks Peninsula bay below Jill Simpson's farm, close to where the stricken boat ran aground.

"Yesterday we could smell the diesel, a really strong smell of diesel. You can smell the diesel down in Red Bay below us, and you can feel it on the edge of the water on the rocks [there]... You can see it over the water," she said.

"The main problem will be, they need to get the boat out of there before it breaks up. If we get a storm it will probably break up."

Simpson said the four crew were incredibly lucky to make it out alive, when they were winched to safety on Sunday night.

"You could just hear a huge helicopter- like it was in our room- and so we could see the helicopter out there and then we saw a flare go up. So we think the men must've got themselves into a position where they could use a flare that we could see from the house. And they did it at the right moment, they put the flare up as the helicopter flew in. They had to winch them all up," she said.

"It's absolutely impossible to access this area down where the boat is by land. It's a cliff above, and big, deep cut into the hillside stopping you walking around the sea coast."