Our history and heritage

SeaCert, the new Maritime NZ seafarer licensing framework for national and international certificates of competency and proficiency, is introduced. 

The Maritime Operator Safety System (MOSS) is introduced. This system improves safety in maritime transport operations and builds on what has been learned from Safe Ship Management (SSM). 

New Zealand Post marks the 100-year anniversary of New Zealand’s maritime radio service being fully developed, and the centenary of the Castle Point Lighthouse, by publishing stamps showing New Zealand coastlines and lighthouses. 

Maritime NZ celebrates the 20-year anniversary of the Maritime Safety Authority being established. 

The container ship Rena runs aground on Astrolabe Reef off the Tauranga coast. Approximately 350 tonnes of heavy fuel oil is spilled. 

New Zealand is elected to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) council, which is responsible for ensuring the organization’s core objectives are met. Council membership gives New Zealand a stronger voice at the IMO.

The Maritime Safety Authority (MSA) is renamed Maritime New Zealand (Maritime NZ). 

New Zealand’s lighthouses are monitored remotely in Wellington by Maritime NZ. Faults are checked via computer and most problems are dealt with remotely, including activating standby units if there is a failure. 

The Maritime Security Act 2004 comes into law, providing for ship and port security, the prevention of international terrorism, and adoption of changes to the annex of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS). 

The Maritime Transport Amendment Act 2004 takes effect, changing the policy framework within which the MSA operates. 

Following a review, the Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) is established and begins operating 24/7. It coordinates all major aviation and marine incidents in New Zealand’s search and rescue region, an area covering about 30 million square kilometres.

Maritime Rules Part 91 enters into force, requiring all New Zealand recreational craft to carry lifejackets on board. 

The Tai Ping runs aground at Tiwai Point near the entrance to Bluff Harbour. She is refloated without any fuel oil spilled. 

The Jody F Millennium grounds on the beach at Gisborne, spilling 25 tonnes of fuel oil. 

The Seafresh 1 sinks off the Chatham Islands, spilling 60 tonnes of diesel. 

New International Maritime Organization (IMO) conventions relating to the protection of the marine environment are adopted, including those targeting anti-fouling systems and ballast water management. 

The container ship MV Rotoma discharged about 7 tonnes of oily bilge discharge off the Tutukaka coast, creating an oil slick 6 kilometres long. 

The Korean fishing vessel Don Wong 529 ran aground off Stewart Island, spilling about 400 tonnes of automotive oil into the ocean. 

Introduction of Safe Ship Management (SSM), the first safety management system for domestic (Non-SOLAS) vessels. 

The International Safety Management Code is introduced, covering most vessels of 500 gross tons and above. It becomes applicable to other large cargo vessels and mobile offshore drilling units from 2002. 

Amendments to the International Convention on ‘Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers’ comes into force. This greatly improves seafarer standards and, for the first time, gives the International Maritime Organization (IMO) powers to check compliance with the Convention. 

The Maritime Transport Act (1994) takes effect and affirms the mandate of the Maritime Safety Authority (MSA) as the national standards development body for ship safety regulations in New Zealand. 

The current coastal navigation and communication services are installed, replacing a service that has operated with little change for eight decades. 

The MSA is set up as a Crown authority in its own right. It replaces the Ministry of Transport’s Maritime Transport Division. The MSA’s establishment is part of a Transport Law Reform Bill that addresses New Zealand’s maritime laws and provides the first major reform of shipping legislation in almost 40 years. 

The Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 comes into force, covering work on board ships and where ships are a place of work.

The Ship Registration Act 1992 comes into force. It provides for the registration of ships in New Zealand. 

The last manned lighthouse, at Brothers Island in Cook Strait, is automated and de-manned. New Zealand is the first country in the world to have all lighthouses automated

The Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS), which allows emergency messages to be transmitted automatically, is adopted. It is phased in from 1992. 

Under government restructuring, the Ministry of Transport’s Marine Division becomes the Maritime Transport Division.

The Russian cruise liner Mikhail Lermontov, carrying 740 passengers and crew, grounds on rocks near Cape Jackson. One crewman is lost. 

The Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior is bombed by French agents, killing a crew member. The ship had been heavily involved in anti-nuclear protests against French testing in the Pacific.

The visit of the USS Texas sparks anti-nuclear rallies and becomes a key election issue in 1984. Nuclear ship visits are subsequently banned by the New Zealand Government. 

An inquiry is held into the automation and demanning of New Zealand’s lighthouses.

The Lyttelton to Wellington ferry Rangatira completes its last voyage, ending more than 80 years of regular services between the two ports. 

The most important of the IMO’s measures for countering pollution, the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, is developed. Later known as MARPOL, it covers accidental and operational oil pollution, and pollution by chemicals, goods, sewage, garbage, and air pollution. 

The Marine Department is absorbed into the Ministry of Transport as the Marine Division. 

A global search and rescue system is initiated with the establishment of the International Mobile Satellite Organisation, greatly improving the provision of radio and other messages to ships.

The ferry Wahine runs aground near Wellington, costing 53 lives. A total of 681 passengers are rescued. 

Growth in the amount of oil being transported by sea and in the size of tankers poses new problems for the IMO. Measures are introduced to prevent tanker accidents and minimise their consequences, including threats from tanker cleaning operations. 

New Zealand whalers harpoon their last whale off the Kaikoura coast, ending more than 170 years of whaling. 

The country’s first roll-on, roll-off ferry, Aramoana, enters service between Wellington and Picton. 

New Zealand becomes a member of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The Organization’s first task is to adopt a new version of the SOLAS convention.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) meets for the first time. The IMO Convention took effect in the previous year. 

A xenon light source fitted to the Tiritiri Matangi Island lighthouse creates the most powerful light beam ever achieved by a New Zealand lighthouse. It has an output of 11 million candlepower and a range of 58 nautical miles, making it one of the most powerful lighthouse beams in the world at this time. Most lights shine for about 27 nautical miles. 

The waterfront dispute of 1951 becomes the biggest industrial confrontation in New Zealand’s recorded history, lasting 151 days. Troops are used to load and unload ships. 

All lighthouses in New Zealand are converted to electricity. 

An international conference in Geneva formally establishes the International Maritime Organization (IMO). 

Cape Reinga is the last major manned lighthouse to be constructed.

Baring Head becomes the first lighthouse to operate on electricity. 

New Zealand became the first country in the southern hemisphere to install a radio beacon to assist ships’ navigation. 

Auckland Maritime Radio (ZLD) begins broadcasting. 

Taiaroa Head is the first lighthouse fitted with an acetylene light. 

Sparked by the Titanic disaster, maritime nations develop the first SOLAS convention. This is the most important international treaty addressing maritime safety and is still in force today.

With the introduction of Awarua (ZLB), Awanui (ZLA) and Chatham Islands Maritime Radio (ZLC), the maritime radio service is fully developed. 

The Titanic hits an iceberg and sinks on her maiden voyage, killing 1,503 people. 

Bean Rock lighthouse is the first manned light to be made fully automatic. 

The first maritime radio coast station, Wellington Radio (ZLW), begins broadcasting. 

The first automatic light, a Dieffenbach light, is installed at Queen Charlotte Sound. 

 The first incandescent petroleum burner is tested to replace paraffin (kerosene). 

Farewell Spit, Cape Maria Van Diemen and Nugget Point lighthouses are all able to broadcast weather reports and relay messages from ships. 

Twenty-seven manned lighthouses operating around New Zealand.

The first fog signal is installed at Pencarrow. 

The Wairarapa hits cliffs on Great Barrier Island, killing 121 people. 

Telegraph lines are connected to lighthouses, providing the first ship-to-shore communication. 

The first shipment of frozen meat leaves for Britain, helping lift New Zealand from an economic depression and becoming the cornerstone of its future economy. 

Paraffin oil is used at Manukau South Head, replacing colza oil used to light early lighthouses. 

More than 1,000 ships arrive and almost 1,000 ships depart from New Zealand ports. 

Nearly 500 vessels have been registered in New Zealand. 

493 vessels are registered to New Zealand. 

The Marine Board of New Zealand, one of the first government agencies, is set up to collect levies to pay for the construction of lighthouses. 

The British Navy ship Orpheus is the biggest casualty of the New Zealand Wars and the country’s worst maritime disaster. It hit the Manukau Harbour bar, killing 189 people. 

287 vessels registered to New Zealand

The Marine Board Act 1862 moves control of harbours and shipping from the Colonial Secretary to the Marine Board. 

New Zealand’s first lighthouse is built at Pencarrow Head, near Wellington. Its light is first lit on 1 January 1859 and looked after by New Zealand’s only woman lighthouse keeper. 

The Harbour Regulations Ordinance is issued. It is divided into four parts: pilots and pilotage, quarantine, harbour regulations, and penalties. 

William Hay is appointed harbourmaster for Wellington.

Thomas Buckham is appointed harbourmaster for the Bay of Islands. 

David Rough is appointed harbourmaster for Auckland. 

Ships’ captains first reported they were having trouble finding their way into New Zealand harbours. 

More than 1,500 ships are wrecked in New Zealand waters, resulting in over 2,000 deaths. 

Ship’s boy Nicholas Young is rewarded with a gallon of rum and has Young Nick’s Head named after him for being the first on board the Endeavour to sight land. 

Explorer Abel Tasman sights the Southern Alps. 

While debate over when New Zealand was first settled continues, evidence suggests the Polynesian ancestors of Māori began arriving during the 13th Century.