NZ marine incidents: is fuel quality the problem?

AMID SPECULATION ‘bad’ fuel may have contributed to the 5 October reef grounding and subsequent sinking of HMNZS Manawanui, Maritime New Zealand and Strait NZ have today confirmed this was the cause of a dangerous loss of power by a Cook Strait ro-pax.

The BlueBridge ferry Connemara drifted for several hours south of Sinclair Head on 19 September after suffering a blackout not long after departing Wellington on a regular voyage to Picton. The vessel was rescued by tugs and taken back to Wellington, where it remained under repair for several days.

Although BlueBridge parent Strait NZ had not previously commented on the incident, today chief executive Shane MccMahon confirmed the ship’s fuel had been found to have been contaminated. This had damaged the injectors, causing the loss of power.

The injectors had been repaired and the contamination had been cleared with the use of a biocide additive.

Investigations into how and where the fuel was contaminated are ongoing, and StraitNZ was working with authorities and its fuel supplier to determine the source of the contamination, Mr McMahon said.

“Samples of fuel taken from the ship and its fuel supply since the 19 September incident have shown no contamination,” he said.

StraitNZ’s silence had been criticised by the Merchant Service Guild, which said the industry should have been notified sooner, especially as the Maritime NZ investigation into the Connemara incident could take up to 12 months to complete.

The possibility of more widespread contamination has been brought to the attention of the NZ Government, which was warned of the possible risks of imported fuel following the 2022 closure of the country’s only refinery at Marsden Point.

RNZ reportedresources minister Shane Jones said a major oil company has told him NZ ship engines may not be coping with a fuel additive – but it has assured him there is no problem with the fuel itself.

Maritime NZ said since the power loss StraitNZ has replaced the Connemara’s fuel and cleaned its storage systems.

“No issues have been identified with recent sampling of fuel supplied out of Wellington,” it said. “If there were, appropriate people would have been notified.”