CHOKYUMARU NO.68

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

TAIC published report into grounding incident

New Zealand’s Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) has issued a report regarding the grounding of the 'Chokyo Maru No. 68' on May 16, 2024, at 3-.40 a.m. due to the route not being properly appraised, planned, documented, or resourced before departure. The longliner was inbound to the Auckland pilot boarding area when it grounded on rocks near The Noises island group at the northern end of Motuhoropapa Island. There were 27 crew members on board; nobody was injured and there was no pollution. The vessel suffered a small hole at the bow, heavy scraping of the hull paint and minor damage to the propeller. It was refloated later the same day two Thomson tugs and towed to an Auckland port facility. The vessel’s route from Yaizu, Japan to Auckland, New Zealand was not appraised, planned, documented or resourced before departure as required by industry rules and guidelines and standard seafaring practice. The crew responsible for navigation did not use all available means to determine the vessel’s position in relation to navigable and unnavigable waters. Furthermore, the vessel was not carrying the appropriate nautical publications and large-scale charts that identified local navigational hazards such as The Noises and its outlying rocks. The master was not aware of rocks and islands between the vessel and the pilot boarding area and set a straight-line course that encountered these navigational hazards. Reports with photos: https://safety4sea.com/taic-investigation-fishing-vessel-grounds-due-to-navigational-errors/ https://www.taic.org.nz/inquiry/mo-2024-203 https://www.thedcn.com.au/news/rock-attracted-longliner-refloated-in-nz/

Fishing vessel grounded in Hauraki Gulf

The 'Chokyo Maru No. 68' ran aground on rocks in the Hauraki Gulf in the early morning of April 15, 2024, with 27 crew members on board en route to Auckland for supplies. No injuries have been reported. The vessel was heading into Auckland when it got into trouble at The Noises about 3.42 a.m. There was damage to the bow of the vessel. The Police were notified at around 5.35 a.m. Two tugs of the Thomson Towboats were called to refloat the ship at around 1.30 p.m. with the high tide. But the re-floating occurred earlier than expected at 1 p.m. The ship berthed at the Bledisloe Container Terminal in Auckland on April 16 at 6 a.m. UTC for further assessments. Report with photos: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/fishing-boat-run-aground-in-the-noises-hauraki-gulf/AZUXFTNDUVG7LPU4CD7H73YAYI/