An intoxicated jet boat driver who was three times the legal limit for driving a car, low light and speed, were contributing causes of a fatal boating accident on the Hollyford River on March 18 last year, the Transport Accident Investigation Commission has found.

Award-winning Te Anau basin farmer Shane Gibbons, 50, was one of three passengers in the boat and died from his injuries. The two other passengers required hospital treatment.

Mr Gibbons and his partner Bridget Speight had a beef, sheep and dairy support farm at Whare Creek and won the 2016 Southland Ballance Farm Environment Award.

The commission released its findings today (June 4) and is repeating previous calls for Maritime New Zealand to action “without delay’’ new laws or rules addressing boat driving under the influence of drink or drugs.

The commission said the driver’s blood alcohol concentration was “about three times the legal blood alcohol limit for driving a car on the road”. 

“It was virtually certain that the consumption of alcohol impaired the driver’s ability to make good decisions and to operate the jet boat safely,” the commission said.

Previous recommendations to Maritime New Zealand that it introduce new laws or rules addressing alcohol and drug use remained “open”, the commission said.

“It is important that safety actions are taken on the commission’s recommendations without delay to help prevent similar accidents or incidents occurring in the future... Implementing safety actions to address this recommendation may have avoided this accident occurring,” the commission said.

The recreational jet boat, with four people on board, was travelling up the Hollyford River from McKerrow Island Hut to Lake Alabaster between 7.30pm and 8.30pm on March 18 last year.

The light was starting to fade as the driver negotiated a left-hand bend at between 35-50 kmh, steered into a shallow channel, hit a rock, lost control and landed on a gravel bar. 

The commission said the flat light made it difficult for the driver to identify rocks and other obstacles, while “the speed in these conditions likely increased the likelihood of an accident occurring and the severity of the consequences”.

The commission made two other recommendations:

• Maritime New Zealand should continue to develop its fatal accident database to improve the quality of accident occurrence data. 
• Drivers or skippers of recreational watercraft must ensure passenger safety by considering all factors, including rapidly changing conditions, and develop a comprehensive safety plan before setting out.