“Looked like it was on fire or there was oil pouring out of the engine and creating that smoke,” he said.
After asking the Black Cat skipper if assistance was needed, Wright’s fishing boat took 15 passengers on board.
Wright said once passengers saw people being safely transferred, other nearby boats moved in to assist.
A fishing vessel crew who responded to a distress call says passengers were ‘pretty frightened’. Photo / Supplied
He said conditions were calm, but the situation was distressing for those on board.
“The people were pretty frightened. There were families and young children, and you can imagine it was pretty scary for them.”
Wright said his crew helped calm passengers before taking them back to shore.
“They were all very, very thankful and happy … No one was hurt that I’m aware of. Everybody is off.”
Wright said he had been told by a passenger that the vessel may have struck something underwater.
“So we suspect he’s gone into a cathedral or one of the things that they look at … I think she said they went in to look at some seals, and he must have connected with a reef or a rock.”
He said the vessel was badly compromised by the time they arrived.
“As we came on board, the boat had taken on water and was clearly missing. So now it’s one to three-quarters sunk.”
The boat has capsized off the coast of Akaroa. Photo / Supplied
Passenger Chris Friedman said the boat was on its return journey around midday, about 45 minutes from shore, when something went wrong.
“They were making their return at midday, around 45 minutes from shore, when all of a sudden the boat jolted, and they heard a ‘thud’,” he said.
“We did not know what was going on … people were not panicking but were certainly all a bit scared.”
Friedman said that five to 10 minutes later, passengers noticed the smell of fuel and were instructed to put on life jackets.
He said there was no explanation from the crew about what had happened.
“And then we started to take on water.”
The vessel was subsequently evacuated using smaller lifeboats, with passengers taken ashore in groups.
“The boat was fully evacuated by smaller lifeboats in groups, all making it back to shore at around 1pm,” Friedman said.
Black Cat Cruises has been approached for comment, along with Maritime NZ and NZ Police.