A boat owner has been fined after an incident near Little Barrier Island. Photo: RNZ Alison Ballance
An Auckland boat owner has been ordered to pay $16,000 after his boat hit and seriously injured a diver at high speed.
Shaun Hollinger's boat hit a diver in January 2022 near Little Barrier Island while speeding at 13 knots, ignoring a flag warning boats to slow down.
The speed limit within 200 metres of a diving flag is 5 knots.
The diver suffered cuts to his head and a concussion from the crash.
On the day of the incident, the recreational vessel Hollinger was piloting entered an area where another boat was located with people diving nearby. The diving boat had planted a flag to warn vessels.
Witness reports describe how passengers on the diving boat tried to make Hollinger's vessel aware there were people in the water.
However, they said there was no change in speed, and shortly after they heard a bang and a diver surfaced yelling for help.
Maritime New Zealand regulatory operations manager Jason Lunjevich said the incident did not have to happen.
"This was completely avoidable and needlessly put a diver at serious risk of injury," Lunjevich said.
"We are still in our busy period for recreational craft users, and diving, and we do not want to see repeats of incidents like this," he said.
"If you see a dive flag, you must slow down to five knots and keep an eye out for people in the water."
Hollinger was sentenced in Auckland District Court and ordered to pay $10,000 in emotional harm reparations, $2429 in consequential loses and was fined $3600, totalling $16,029.