Enchanter skipper, Lance Goodhew, on trial in Whangārei on 6 May, 2024. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf
The skipper of the ill-fated Enchanter fishing charter boat has been found not guilty after a judge ruled the tragedy could have been a terrible and unforeseeable accident.
Lance Goodhew, of Mangōnui, had been charged in relation to the capsize of the Enchanter when it was struck by a massive wave off North Cape more than two years ago, with the loss of five lives.
Monday's verdict follows a harrowing three-week trial in May, in which the survivors recounted the suddenness of the wave, their struggle to stay alive, and the distress of watching their friends drift off into the night.
The charge was laid was Maritime New Zealand, which alleged Goodhew breached his duties as a worker on the vessel, thereby putting his passengers and crew at risk of serious injury or death.
Delivering his verdict in the Whangārei District Court, Judge Philip Rzepecky said the tragedy was caused by a significant rogue wave in otherwise benign conditions, and he could not be sure Goodhew could have foreseen it given the information he had at the time.
Judge Rzepecky said the otherwise successful charter trip to the Three Kings Islands came to a sudden end around 8pm on 20 March 2022 when the boat was hit by a rogue wave, destroying the superstructure of the 16-metre vessel and capsizing its hull.
Tragically, five of the 10 people on board did not survive.
They were Geoffrey Allen, 72, Michael Lovett, 72, Richard Bright, 63, and Mark Walker, 41, all from Cambridge, and Mark Sanders, 43, from Te Awamutu.
The three surviving passengers, the skipper and deckhand were rescued later that night.
All five gave evidence during the trial.
"It was clear from that harrowing evidence that they all suffered a frightening ordeal," Judge Rzepecky said.
"The significant impact of the loss of these men has been evident and present throughout the proceedings, and I acknowledge the families struggling with a terrible loss."
The judge also acknowledged the survivors, including Goodhew, and commended everyone involved in the trial for their strength and patience during a gruelling court process.
He hoped the verdict would at least provide a milestone for those struggling to come to grips with the tragedy.
Maritime New Zealand's case was that Goodhew should never have left the Three Kings Islands on the afternoon of 20 March 2022.
"Instead, he should have stayed another night and left to return to Mangōnui the following day. That would have eliminated the risk of capsizing by encountering a large wave, and that was a possibility posed by the weather forecast," Judge Rzepecky said.
"Maritime New Zealand says a reasonably careful mariner, knowing what Goodhew knew on the day, would have stayed at anchorage."
Goodhew, however, denied the charge, while acknowledging the tragedy and his remorse for the loss of life on a vessel he was skippering.
"He says his decision to leave the Three Kings Islands for North Cape was prudent under the circumstances, based on the weather information which was available to him, his significant local experience, and the known seaworthiness of his boat, Enchanter," Judge Rzepecky said.
"I have found the Enchanter was capsized and destroyed by a significant rogue wave which came without warning. At the time conditions were benign with about 10-12 knots of wind and a sea of around 1-2 metres. Based on the observations of the survivors and the expert scientific evidence, I cannot be sure that the occurrence of such a wave was reasonably foreseeable based on the information available to Mr Goodhew when he decided to leave the Three Kings Islands," he said.
"After considering all the evidence … I cannot be sure that a reasonably careful mariner, with Mr Goodhew's experience, would have decided not to leave the Three Kings Islands when he did. I cannot rule out the possibility that the cause of this tragic maritime casualty was just a terrible accident and not a cause anyone was actually responsible for. Therefore I am not sure the prosecution has proven its case against Mr Goodhew beyond reasonable doubt …. Accordingly I find Mr Goodhew not guilty and the charge is dismissed."
Goodhew, his partner and a handful of supporters were in the court to hear the verdict.
They were visibly relieved and, once the judge had left, exchanged hugs and handshakes.
Goodhew declined to comment other than saying he was relieved and grateful for the outcome.
The other survivors were deckhand Kobe O'Neill, and passengers Peter "Shay" Ward, Jayde Cook and Ben Stinson.
Following this morning's verdict, Maritime NZ defended its decision to prosecute over the Enchanter tragedy.
Maritime NZ general manager of investigations Pete Dwen said the decision to file a charge against Goodhew was a considered one, and the agency's investigators and legal team had worked hard on the case.
It was too soon to say whether the court's ruling would be appealed.
"We will now take some time to review the judge's decision, then consider what the next steps may be," Dwen said.