Passengers on the stricken Waitere are helped onto another ferry. The damaged vessel sank about an hour later.
Photo: Supplied

An Auckland boatie charged in relation to a crash that sank a Russell ferry and critically injured its skipper has had his first court appearance put off until next year.

The 48-year-old Remuera man was to have appeared in the Auckland District Court on Wednesday on two charges of operating a vessel dangerously.

The charges are laid under the collision prevention rules of the Maritime Transport Act 1994 and carry a maximum penalty of 12 months’ jail or a $10,000 fine.

The court hearing has, however, been postponed until February.

The historic ferry Waitere sank shortly after the collision with the high-powered sports fishing boat near Russell in April this year.

The 77-year-old skipper suffered life-threatening head and spinal injuries and at least one passenger was thrown into the water.

The collision pierced the port side of the Waitere, demolished the wheelhouse where the skipper was sitting, and scattered fragments of timber the length of the ferry.

Another ferry comes to the rescue of the badly damaged Waitere. The wheelhouse and port side bore the brunt of the collision with a high-powered sports fishing boat.
Photo: Supplied

Witnesses on board the ferry said it was remarkable no one else was injured, given the force of the impact and the fact the Waitere was crowded with school holiday visitors at the time.

The charges have been laid by Maritime New Zealand.

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission is conducting a separate investigation into the broader circumstances of the collision, which is expected to be completed next year.

The Waitere, also known to local residents as the Blue Ferry, was salvaged but could not be repaired.

Its owners have since replaced it with another wooden vessel of a similar vintage, named Te Kuia.