As the long-awaited trial of Lance Goodhew, skipper of the recreational fishing boat Enchanter, began in the Whangārei District Court today, two charges against his company were dropped.
He now faces a single charge from Maritime New Zealand for breaching his duties as a worker on the vessel and thereby allegedly exposing individuals to the risk of death or serious injury. The charge carries a maximum fine of $150,000.
Goodhew's fishing boat was hired by a group of friends for a five-day fishing trip, which they described as “the trip of a lifetime”.
Goodhew took the group 80 km north from Mangonui to the Three Kinds Islands on March 17, 2022, for three days of big game fishing, before deciding to return on March 20, 2022.
MetService had issued an “orange warning” for 24 hours that day, meaning the weather was rough with high winds and rain. As Goodhew rounded the North Cape, the Enchanter capsized after being hit by a 30-foot wave.
A distress beacon was activated at 8 p.m. and after a lengthy rescue operation that lasted days, five men were killed.
They were Geoffrey James Allen, 72, Michael Patrick Lovett, 72, Richard Eldon Bright, 63, and Mark Keith Walker, 41, all from Cambridge, and Mark Kenneth Sanders, 43, from Te Awamutu.
Judge Philip Rzepecky opened the three-week judge-alone trial by recognizing all the dead, the survivors and their families who had traveled to participate in the trial or listen in remotely.
“This is a serious maritime tragedy and the other people who survived and who undoubtedly went through a traumatic ordeal, including Mr Goodhew, so I acknowledge them and I also acknowledge and welcome the families and victims.”
Maritime New Zealand's lead lawyer, Sam McMullan, first applied to dismiss the charges against the company L & M Goodhew Ltd because he could not provide evidence.
Judge Rzepecky dismissed the charges under section 147 and the trial continued on the single charge against Goodhew.
McMullan opened the case by saying Goodhew had breached his duties under the Health and Safety Act 2015, exposing passengers to the risk of death or injury.
“The Enchanter should never have been where he was. The weather was bad and a significant front passed. Conditions were described as “sloppy, gnarled and filthy,” McMullan said.
McMullan said the weather was a major topic of conversation during the trip and Goodhew himself had interpreted the weather as “nasty”.
When the Enchanter left Mangonui on March 17, 2022, McMullan said there was no dispute. Goodhew knew a weather front was approaching with an estimated 30 knots of wind planned for March 19, 2022.
Despite that knowledge and armed with multiple weather navigation equipment, Goodhew took his passengers 50 miles north and over the next few days the weather was upgraded to a gale warning.
McMullan said he regularly discussed the weather with his passengers and also received six hourly updates from his onboard weather systems.
The case will hinge on decisions Goodhew made in the Three Kings Islands and the North Cape that allegedly contributed to the catastrophic outcome.
The weather passing through the Three Kings had reportedly been so bad that several ships anchored in the area, but at around 1:30 PM on March 19, 2022, Goodhew made the decision to leave.
McMullan said while the weather had improved somewhat, the seas were still rough and most seafarers understand the risks that arise after a front has passed.
At around 7.40pm, Goodhew was recorded communicating with Maritime Radio that the weather was 'a bit bad'.
“The fact that the Enchanter arrived at the North Cape shortly after the front had passed should have given him pause as to whether the area could still be affected by the effects of the weather that had passed through it,” McMullan said in the opening.
When interviewed by Maritime New Zealand, Goodhew described conditions as dark, with visibility between 20 and 50 meters in front of him and head-on into the waves.
Although Goodhew said the Enchanter was in about 50 meters of water, MetOcean disagreed and will provide evidence that the water depth was likely less.
McMullan said Goodhew was also within three nautical miles of the coastline and it was these factors combined at the North Cape that placed Goodhew's passengers at reasonable risk of injury or death.
“It's all these factors together: he was traveling in the conditions he was in and the proximity to the North Cape in low light, all increased the risk of the situation.
“It couldn't see an approaching big wave when one was approaching, and the ship couldn't handle any wave it encountered,” McMullan said.
'Catastrophic' consequences
Between 7.40pm and 8pm a wave, described by Goodhew as “bigger than the roof”, hit the Enchanter, tearing the cabin and flybridge from the fuselage.
At the time, deckhand Koby O'Neill was cooking dinner on deck, Peter Ward was watching the lines aft, Mark Walker was sleeping in a cabin and the other men were sitting around the cabin.
Goodhew, Ben Stinson and Kobe O'Neill clung to the flybridge and Jayde Cook and Peter Ward clung to the fuselage.
The two groups were separated and 10 minutes after the wave hit the distress beacon floated past Cook and Ward.
“It's a matter of luck and maybe an act of God that it floats past them,” McMullan said.
The beacon was activated, but it took several hours before rescue helicopters arrived.
“The important point about the improving weather was that it did not mean the risk had been eliminated.
“The marine environment is complex and it takes time to have an impact. Based on the information he had and without any care in his decisions.
“As we see, the consequences have been catastrophic.
“He broke the law. It is his duty to exercise reasonable care. That is a summary of what the case is about,” McMullan said.
Fletcher Pilditch KC on behalf of Lance Goodhew gave a brief statement for his client on the first day of the trial. Photo / Michael Craig
Goodhew's barrister, Fletcher Pilditch KC, said his client wanted to acknowledge the deceased first, but also the survivors and the trauma they experienced together.
Pilditch said the prosecution had to prove beyond reasonable doubt that no responsible skipper would have left the Three Kings.
“There is a risk in cases like this where one sailor would have made one decision and another would have made another.
“What the prosecution is trying to make is that, based on the information, no reasonable sailor would have made that decision. The fact that two people make two different decisions doesn't make it unreasonable.”
'Complex and challenging' decisions
Pilditch said the decisions at the North Cape were more complex and he disputed the prosecution's three nautical mile theory, which posed more risk to the ship.
“The prosecutor indicates or raises a flag that a distinction must be made between the three nautical miles outside and inside, but they must show why it is unsafe or risky to be closer than three and common knowledge to a confident captain,” said Pilditch.
Maritime New Zealand will call 14 witnesses over the next week and a half, including survivors Peter Ward, Jayde Cook and Ben Stinson, along with Florence Nightingale's skipper Matt Gentry.
Maritime New Zealand researchers Tracy Phillips and John Maxwell and MetOcean scientist Dr. Brett Beamsley will also be called.