Grounding of Manahau barge at Westport raises major questions

The Maritime Union says the grounding of the barge Manahau overnight near Westport raises major questions.

Maritime Union of New Zealand National Secretary Carl Findlay says concerns had been previously raised by New Zealand seafarers about the foreign crew and flag of the barge.

He says the cause of the grounding has yet to be confirmed, but the difficult local conditions at Westport including recent poor weather would be obvious issues to consider.

There had been no reports of injuries, which was fortunate as the West Coast was a notoriously treacherous maritime environment.

The 97.53-metre and 3706-GT self-powered barge Manahau had only just come into service in August 2024 carrying mineral sands out of shallow draught port Westport to Nelson.

Mr Findlay says the Manahau did not have a New Zealand crew and the flag state was Niue. 

“Vessels such as the Manahau operating in New Zealand’s unique and challenging maritime environment should be crewed by experienced New Zealand seafarers.”

The operators of the Manahau had benefited from Government funding for the vessel.

Mr Findlay says it had been extremely disappointing to see this substantial Government funding go towards a vessel operating in New Zealand waters that was neither New Zealand flagged nor crewed.

“In the last several years, we saw an upsurge in New Zealand crewed coastal shipping, but this is now going backwards with the loss of coastal shipping services, or in this case, failing to provide jobs for skilled local crews.” 

“New Zealand needs to build its coastal shipping capacity, and that means New Zealand owned, operated and crewed ships.”