TAIC reports on a failure of basic seamanship

19 Jun 2025
Aerial view of the Japanese longline fishing vessel Chokyo Maru aground on rocks near a steep coastline, with a harbour tug made fast to the vessel’s stern via a tow line. The tug is manoeuvring to refloat or reposition the grounded vessel. A group of support craft is visible in pontoon at anchor in deeper water some 60m off the starboard bow of the grounded vessel. The surrounding area features submerged hazards and clear turquoise water, indicating shallow depths and rocky outcrops
The Chokyo Maru No.68 aground on rocks at Motuhoropapa Island. An Auckland harbour tug is made fast to the vessel’s stern manoeuvring to refloat the grounded vessel. Photo (c): NZ Herald | Michael Blampied

Briefly: Grounding near Auckland: new TAIC report reminds us why the basics always matter. This is a real-world case study and useful training material for what can go wrong when safety critical staff overlook the basics.

 

What happened

Approaching Auckland, the Japanese longline fishing vessel Chokyu Maru No.68 ('Chokyo Maru') grounded on rocks near The Noises. The vessel was refloated and towed the same day. None of the 27 crew was injured  and there was no pollution.

 

Why it happened

This avoidable incident shows what happens when safety critical staff overlook the basics – in this case, fundamentals of safe navigation:

  • No passage plan was appraised, documented, or resourced before sailing from Japan.
  • Position knowledge: The crew responsible for navigation did not use all available means to verify the vessel’s position. The vessel lacked large-scale charts and publications that showed local hazards.
  • Hazard awareness: The master was unaware of the rocks and islands between the vessel and the pilot boarding ground — and set a straight-line course that led to the grounding.

 

Annotated excerpt of New Zealand nautical chart NZ532 shows path of fishing vessel Chokyo Maru near The Noises island group in the Hauraki Gulf. The vessel's AIS track is marked by a red line with red time-stamped dots indicating position over time, with labels in yellow showing times. Black callout boxes describe key events: drifting about 1NM North of Ahaaha Rocks , a straight-line transit toward the pilot boarding area (off map), the grounding location on rocks near Motuhoropapa Island, and subsequent towage Westward toward the Waitematā Harbour. Depth soundings, navigation aids, and danger areas are visible on the chart.
Fig 4: Track of Chokyu Maru No.68 (indicated by red line) before grounding and after refloating (times indicated in yellow) (Chart credit Land Information New Zealand Toitū Te Whenua, data and annotations by TAIC)



Safety 

Plan the passage. Check your position. Know the hazards. These are not optional steps — they are requirements under SOLAS and good seamanship. When any one of them is skipped, safety margins shrink dramatically.

Voyage planning and execution

  • The operator had not ensured compliance with international requirements.
  • TAIC recommendation: The Commission has recommended that the vessel's operator address this 

Port-State Control of fishing vessels

  • This incident highlights the risk of substandard foreign fishing vessels operating in New Zealand waters.
  • This issue has been addressed. Maritime NZ now has more capacity for inspections under the Tokyo Memorandum of Understanding, to include fishing vessels in New Zealand’s port-state regime.