Tourist boat operators fined after passengers injured, New Zealand

Two companies operating high-speed tourist boats in the Bay of Islands have been fined and ordered to pay reparation after incidents in which passengers were seriously injured. Intercity Group, which operated the Excitor Three has to pay a total of $270,000, while Seafort Holdings, the operator of the Mac Attack must pay a total of $120,000. The companies appeared in the Auckland District Court on Monday over incidents that happened in December 2010 and early last year. Three woman passengers on the Excitor Three on separate trips to the Hole in the Rock attraction on 12 January and 22 March last year suffered serious injuries to their vertebrae when the inflatable craft smacked down on large waves. Read Article