It did not pose an environmental risk, having been cleared of oil and other hazardous contaminants when it was salvaged in May after hitting rocks near Mōtītī Island.
Fourteen adults managed to escape from the stricken launch before it sank in about 8m of water off Mōtītī Island. It was taken back to Tauranga.
The stern of the 18.2m launch being raised from the sea floor near Mōtiti Island after it hit submerged rocks on May 16. Photo / Sean Kelly, Pacific 7
Waikato Regional Harbourmaster Chris Bredenback said the vessel was being towed to Whangārei by the owner and his associates when it sank.
He said salvage company Trojan Marine Services would be “very motivated” to lift the launch off the ocean floor and get it to wherever they needed to go.
Trojan Marine Services said in a statement the recovery of the sunken vessel was under way but it would not comment on the progress of the operation.
The company said the weather and sea conditions had been “atrocious” for the past four days, with strong winds, heavy swells and heavy downpours.
Maritime New Zealand manager of general regulatory operations central, Blair Simmons, said it was gathering information about the circumstances of the September 21 sinking of the vessel.
“This will inform any future regulatory steps we may take. The vessel changed ownership between the earlier sinking in May and the recent incident.”
He said the investigation into the May sinking was complete and “resulted in an educational approach being taken with the parties involved”.
He said the probe found the skipper’s emergency preparedness contributed to the “best possible outcome” for those on board, despite the loss of the vessel.
Sandra Conchie is a senior journalist at the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post who has been a journalist for 25 years. She mainly covers police, court and other justice stories, as well as general news. She has been a Canon Media Awards regional/community reporter of the year.