Astrolabe Reef and 'no go' zones

A quiet day yesterday at Astrolabe Reef with GO Canopus 'standing by' and Koraki towing around an oil absorbent boom. New Zealand is copping another low pressure system with a gale warning for sea area Plenty.

Koraki and GO Canopus on opposite sides of Rena




Friday's isobar chart


A maritime expert has opined that New Zealand should introduce compulsory 'no go' zones to stop ship's taking short-cuts around the coast but the AM's smells a bit of self-promotion of a commercial product. Every ship's Safety Management System contains instructions to the Master and Navigating Officer on passage planning. While ships have schedules to maintain, 'no go' zones will be just another useless layer of unenforceable regulation.

AM