Rock Strike Sank New Zealand Tourist Catamaran Carrying 41 People
An interim TAIC report finds the master approached a charted hazard from an unusual direction
A tourist catamaran was lost off New Zealand's South Island in January after striking a rock that was marked on the chart, approached from a direction the vessel did not normally use. The country's Transport Accident Investigation Commission has set that out in an interim report.
The vessel was the Black Cat, a 17-metre catamaran built in 1994 and operated on sightseeing work out of Akaroa by Black Cat Cruises. She was lost on the morning of 31 January 2026 after her hull was breached on Archway Rock, a submerged hazard that appears in the published data.
There were 41 people aboard: 38 passengers and three crew, on a routine two-hour wildlife and scenery run. The catamaran left her Akaroa Harbour berth at 10:45 and worked her way along several stops. Calm conditions persuaded the master to take her outside the harbour and on to Scenery Nook on the south coast, reached at about 11:52.
At Scenery Nook the master worked from the starboard bridge wing to bring the vessel in close to rocks already known to him, then settled on a visit to Archway Rock during the run home. The catamaran left at about 12:07. The master went back to the central helm position to look over the intended track on the chart plotter, then took the port bridge wing and steered for the rock.
A crew member registered at roughly that moment that the approach angle was not the usual one. The impact followed within minutes, opening the hull and letting water into the vessel, the engine space included. Nobody started the bilge pumps: the crew were not sure enough of the system to work it.
With no way of getting the water out, the master took her back into Akaroa Harbour so the passengers could be taken off safely. Inside the harbour the steering failed along with the starboard engine, the emergency steering gave no response, and the catamaran took on a pronounced list to starboard.
Other vessels in the area lifted off the passengers. A Coastguard boat that happened to be exercising just outside the harbour tried to dewater her with a portable petrol pump and could not keep up. The master then ran her at the beach in a final attempt to save the hull, and she grounded there. Salvors could not refloat her the next day, and she broke up in heavy weather.
The commission stresses that the interim report carries only what has been established so far. Analysis, the safety issues and any recommendations wait for the final report.
