Foveaux Strait, between the South Island and Rakiura/Stewart Island, is a dangerous stretch of water for boats. A group of local commercial fishermen set up a coastguard unit to assist vessels in the area in 1997.

In this image, a coastguard vessel takes police divers to investigate the wreck of the Kotuku, which capsized in Foveaux Strait in 2006. Six of the nine people on board died, despite a massive search and rescue operation overseen by the Rescue Coordination Centre, involving helicopters, ships and at least a dozen leisure boats. The Kotuku overturned after it was hit by two waves in quick succession, and those on board had no time to activate an emergency beacon or don life jackets.

Another huge rescue effort was required after the sinking of the fishing boat Easy rider in 2012. This was the largest search and rescue in Southland’s history, involving a total of 15,000 person-hours. Local boats and helicopters, and the Rescue Coordination Centre in Wellington, were assisted by HMNZSZ Resolution, which had been on its way to a training exercise in Fiordland. It was one of New Zealand’s worst maritime tragedies in recent decades, with eight lives lost. Only one man survived, spotted from a rescue boat after 18 hours in the water.