Captain Yongyu Li appeared in the Tauranga District Court via audio-visual link from China. Photo: SunLive
A cargo ship captain has admitted he put the vessel and those onboard in danger during Cyclone Gabrielle when he steered into shallower waters off Hawke's Bay en route to the Port of Tauranga.
Captain Yongyu Li appeared in the Tauranga District Court on Monday via audio-visual link from China and pleaded guilty to operating a ship on 14 February in a manner causing unnecessary danger or risk.
The charge under Section 65 of the Maritime Transport Act 1994 has a maximum sentence of 12 months in prison or a $10,000 fine.
According to the Maritime New Zealand summary of facts obtained by the Bay of Plenty Times, Li has been a ship captain for two years and a first mate for 10 years before that.
On 14 February, he was captaining 19.8-tonne cargo vessel Spinnaker SW, which operates under the Panama flag, from Mahia to the Port of Tauranga.
The weather was particularly bad because Cyclone Gabrielle was hitting New Zealand.
Before departing Mahia, Li made a voyage plan to go around Portland Island.
His company's safety management system defined heavy weather as wind speeds on the Beaufort scale of force seven or more and significant waves of four metres or more.
The vessel's maximum draft - the minimum depth of water it could safely navigate - was 8.8m.
His employer's policy was that the under-keel clearance should not be less than 10 percent of the vessel's maximum draft in confined waters and during port approaches. In open waters, the minimum was 20 percent.
Li was on the ship's bridge between 11.30am and 12.30pm when the vessel neared Portland Island.
The wind force was at level seven and the 6-7m swell caused the vessel to roll. He decided to steer closer to land to slow the rolling motion but did not do a formal appraisal of his deviation from the original voyage plan.
The ship entered water about 11.3m deep about 2.28km from the island.
Two spots were 9m and 10m deep on its port side.
At 2.03km from the island and 666m from a 9.4m shallow spot, Li turned the ship 120 degrees.
This put the Spinnaker SW about 748m from the 10m-deep shallows and 2.38km from the island.
Maritime New Zealand said by taking this path, Li risked the vessel hitting the ocean floor.
The vessel became exposed to sea and swell motions, with insufficient draft and under-keel clearance, and also came within about 800m of the shoal ground.
"This placed the vessel, and any people on board, in unnecessary danger or risk," the summary said.
Li told a Maritime New Zealand investigator he chose to take the vessel into shallow waters because the wind was "too strong" and he wanted to avoid the ship rolling from left to right and shaking.
He admitted he did not calculate the risk before heading towards land but instead had relied on "his experience and observations". He said he knew he was breaching his employer's policy.
Asked why he chose to take the ship out in such bad weather, the defendant said he wanted to unload the vessel in Tauranga.
Li told the investigator he would not offend in this way again.
The summary did not say how many people were on the ship.
In court, Li was assisted by a Chinese interpreter who translated the court proceedings back to him and confirmed his guilty plea to the charge.
His lawyer Tom Lynskey and Maritime New Zealand lawyers Frances Rhodes and Suzanne Trounson agreed that sentencing should take place in the Wellington District Court on 19 July to enable them to appear in person.
Judge Melinda Mason convicted Li and remanded him to appear for sentencing by audio-visual link on that date.
* This story was originally published by the New Zealand Herald.