Tragedy at sea underscores need for inquiry

Tragedy at sea underscores need for inquiry


The tragic loss of life that occurred with the sinking of the Korean Joint Venture vessel Oyang 70 on Wednesday underscores the need for the inquiry initiated in Nelson recently with a nationwide petition by the Service and Food Workers’ Union, says Nelson-based Labour list MP, Maryan Street.

“My condolences go to the families of the crew who died,“ she said.

“The SFWU’s call for an inquiry into joint venture, foreign-crewed fishing vessels would address a range of issues of concern including health and safety as well as the threat to New Zealand jobs,” she said.

“The union has for a long time voiced its concerns at the state of the vessels which foreign crew frequently work on. Maritime New Zealand is reported as saying that the Oyang 70 ‘met all relevant safety standards and had passed a foreign charter inspection as recently as last month’. The big question then is why did it capsize in calm conditions? The Transport Accident Investigation Commission report will be eagerly awaited.

“I have filed an Official Information request with the Ministry of Fisheries and the Department of Labour today, asking for copies of any observer reports on this vessel in the last 5 years. They should disclose the state of the vessel and the work practices on board,” said Maryan Street.

“The issue of foreign crew taking jobs which are much needed in New Zealand is also still a concern,” she said.

“All of the crew on the Oyang 70 were either Indonesian, Philippino, Korean or Chinese. I understand that there were 9 boats in the Southern Blue Whiting fishery that day and only one was New Zealand owned and crewed.

“That was the Amaltal Atlantis from Nelson, which went immediately to the rescue of the 45 survivors. It appeared to be the only vessel properly equipped with a suitable rescue boat. That detail should come out in the TAIC report.

“It appears that there were as many as 400 foreign crew working in that fishery this week and only 40 New Zealanders who were on the Amaltal Atlantis. This fact alone is enough to justify the SFWU’s petition for an inquiry,said Maryan Street.

ENDS