An air force Orion and 16 crew were put on standby
yesterday after a 15-year-old Napier youth sent a hoax
mayday call from a boat parked on a dive school trailer.
Police say the teen risked a $10,000 fine or even a 12-month
stint in jail when he sent the maritime distress call from
an Adventure Education dive boat about 9.15am.
The call put the Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Wellington
on full alert, with an air force Orion on standby at
Whenuapai and a helicopter waiting in Taupo.
But just moments before a costly major search and rescue
effort was launched, the hoax was uncovered and the Orion
and its crew stood down.
Maritme New Zealand communications advisor Steve Corbett
said 16 RNZAF crew were kitted-up and the Orion was about to
be fuelled ready to start a search.
Had it taken to the air, the cost of the hoax call would
have soared by thousands of dollars.
"Apparently the Orion would have had to be fully
fuelled, but it would not have been allowed to land with
that on board, and the fuel would have had to be burned
off," he said.
Reimbursement of those costs would have been sought, he
said.
The call was traced to a dive boat and radio on a trailer at
Adventure Education, Taradale Road.
A spokesman for Adventure Education said the boy was not on
a diving course at the centre, but nobody from the company
could comment further.
Rescue Co-ordination Centre search and rescue officer Mike
Roberts said the call was "potentially very
dangerous".
"We react immediately to any sign of possible distress
and have to get things moving quickly," he said.
"We could have had these aircraft up in very poor
weather, putting the crews in danger.
"Everyone needs to realise that pranks like this are no
laughing matter ... it's very frustrating to go to all this
trouble for nothing."
Senior Sergeant Tony Dewhirst at Napier police station said
he didn't think the youth realised the consequences of his
stupidity.
"The problem is we had to treat it as a genuine mayday
call. So we had police on the ground making inquiries at
marinas, and our search and rescue staff on stand-by.
"We don't really need this sort of thing as we're busy
enough."
The 15-year-old youth has been charged with dangerous
activity involving ships, under the Maritime Transport Act
1994.