Two men who sank a boat in a marine reserve off Waiheke Island have been fined $40,000 in court.

Auckland Council said John Peter Lenssen and Cain Subritzy were found guilty of deliberately digging Bluebeard out of Whakanewha Regional Park in 2019.

They were each fined $20,000 and ordered to remove the wreck and any other items from the ocean floor within three months.

Chief Environmental Court Judge David Kirkpatrick said the sinking of the ship was “well thought out and “economically motivated”.

He dismissed the defendants’ claims that it was “a failed complex salvage attempt” and “well-meaning misfortune” rather than a deliberate act.

The ship broke anchor in a storm in June 2019 and ran aground on rocks in front of Rocky Bay. The defendants offered the shipowners to dispose of it on land for $10,000, but the harbour master later received a report from the public that the ship had sunk.

The city council said the defendants did not cooperate with the city council or the port chief during the investigation. They actively misled police by telling them that Bluebeard was buried on private property despite knowing it was dumped in coastal waters.

Auckland Council’s investigation team leader, David Pawson, said the decision sent a very strong message to anyone considering dumping in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Reserve.

“Instead of choosing to protect the marine environment, they deliberately sank a ship in a known protected area that could lead to adverse effects.

“We will not hesitate to prosecute those who flout and disregard our marine environment.”

Justice Kirkpatrick granted the committee’s request for an injunction against each defendant to remove the wreckage and dispose of it on land within three months. It is currently nine meters below the surface.

Kirkpatrick also denied Mr Subritsky’s request for release without conviction.

The men were accused of dumping a boat in coastal waters, but didn’t make it clear
The resource agreed to allow this – a crime punishable by up to two years in prison or a $300,000 fine.