A dolphin-watching tour operator has been ordered to pay more than $A100,000 after an Australian tourist almost died when she was trapped in a boat's propeller.
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Catherine Carlyle, a doctor from South Australia, suffered serious leg injuries when she entered the water to swim with dolphins in the Marlborough Sounds in December last year.
The femoral artery in her right leg was severed and crew members used blankets to stop her bleeding to death. Both of her legs were broken and she received serious cuts. She has required numerous surgical procedures and received multiple skin grafts.
Maritime New Zealand, which brought the prosecution, said Dr Carlyle was lucky to survive the incident in Ruakaka Bay in the Queen Charlotte Sound.
Picton-based tourism operator Dolphin Watch and Nature Eco Tours was convicted in Blenheim District Court yesterday on two health and safety charges.
The company pleaded guilty last month to charges of failing to take steps to ensure an employee's actions could not harm anyone and failing to safeguard employees.
It was fined $NZ55,000 ($A42,000) and ordered to pay Dr Carlyle $NZ80,000 in reparation, as well as costs of $NZ2278.
A guide had given the all clear for swimmers to enter the water from the Dolphin Watch boat, but a propeller was still turning.
MNZ investigations manager Steve van der Splinter said the company knew there was an issue with the propellers still turning when the boat was in neutral.
''Despite identifying the hazard, the company took no practicable steps to control it,'' he said.
Mr van der Splinter said the company told investigators they had inherited the safety system from the previous owners and assumed that it had been adequate.