Bay Harbour: October 25, 2023

Wednesday October 25 2023 Bay Harbour News
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
Companies fined after skipper killed
• By Sam Sherwood
TWO Christchurch companies
have been fined $270,000 and
ordered to pay $130,000 in
reparation after a trailer came
off a work van and smashed
into another vehicle, killing an
Akaroa boat captain.
Julian Bruins Yates, 52, a
skipper for Black Cat Cruises,
died on October 23, 2020 in a
three-vehicle crash on Weka Pass
Rd in Hurunui.
On Tuesday last week, Ultimate
Design and Renovation
Ltd, which owned the A-frame
trailer and tow vehicle, and its
operational arm ABC Aluminium
Ltd were sentenced in the
district court. Both businesses
were charged under the Health
and Safety at Work Act for health
and safety failures.
A WorkSafe investigation
found the locking handle on
the trailer was not engaged, and
the trailer’s safety chain was not
connected to the vehicle.
“These are routine checks that
must be done when towing a
trailer. If not, the consequences
can be catastrophic,” said Work-
Safe’s head of specialist interventions,
Dr Catherine Gardner.
Both companies did not
have systems to ensure vehicles
were in good working order, or
systems to ensure drivers visually
REPARATION: Two companies have been charged for health and safety failures after Julian
Bruins Yates, 52, died in 2020 in a three-vehicle crash.
PHOTO: NZ HERALD
checked their vehicles before use.
WorkSafe also found staff had
inadequate information, training,
instruction, supervision,
and experience to safely use the
company vehicles and trailers.
“It’s not enough to just have
your workers sign a vehicle
policy. Businesses need to ensure
drivers are competent to safely
use a vehicle, especially one that
is being towed,” said Gardner.
“Julian Bruins Yates was a
father of two who lost his life
through no fault of his own. Any
business with a vehicle
fleet should heed the lessons
of this tragedy because it was
entirely preventable.”
Black Cat Cruises chief executive
Paul Milligan told the NZ
Herald after the tragedy his staff
had been left devastated.
“Julian was a colourful
character, he had been a part of
the Black Cat team for 10 years.”
Yates had been the “face and
voice” of the company’s Akaroa
Harbour cruise since 2011. Being
out on the water in nature was
“his happy place”, said Milligan.
He estimated about 100,000
guests over the past decade had
been on a cruise with Yates.
“He was definitely a big personality
and someone who will
be dearly missed,” said Milligan.
“Akaroa is a small town and
Julian had involvement with
a lot of things and the whole
community is feeling it.”
– NZ Herald
NEWS 5
Direct
bus a trial
solution
• From page 1
“By creating a traffic
management plan which
ensures cruise ship passengers
can access Christchurch
directly rather than via
Lyttelton, a small township
which is not set up for large
numbers of visitors, we know
that both visitors and residents
will have a more positive
experience in our destination,”
Aberhart said.
She said the proposal would
have some cost implications for
cruise lines.
“We think that there will
be some incremental cost
increases to transfer passengers
from Lyttelton to Christchurch.
We’re really eager to work
through supporting the cruise
lines and making sure their
logistical planning doesn’t cost
them too much.”
Aberhart said tourism
operators were looking forward
to welcoming passengers to the
city.
ChristchurchNZ said 79
cruise ships with a total of
144,000 passengers arrived in
Lyttelton during the October-
March 2022/23 season.
– RNZ
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