How one man’s rusting boat became ratepayers’ $55,000 headache

Saturday, 11 July 2026

Officials trying to remove a derelict boat used as a floating bolthole for rough sleepers were stymied for months by legal hurdles before it sank in a storm, leaving ratepayers to pick up the tab.

The MV Gleaner – better known to many Thames locals as Rewa Rules– sank alongside Shortland Wharf as ex-Tropical Cyclone Vaianu swept through in April, damaging the wharf and triggering an oil spill response.

The oil spill response alone cost $15,756.06. The Waikato Times previously revealed it also cost $40,735.55 to salvage and dispose of the vessel after no owner could be found to cover the bill.

Official documents released to the Waikato Times under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act reveal authorities had been trying unsuccessfully to remove the vessel for months before it sank, but believed they lacked the legal authority to do so.

The rusting former commercial fishing boat had become a familiar sight tied up alongside the Thames wharf, where it had been intermittently occupied by rough sleepers for an estimated two to three years.

Internal Waikato Regional Council emails reveal one local contacted recreational harbourmaster Hayden Coburn in January urging officials to seize the opportunity to remove the vessel while its occupier was apparantly in custody.

'I had a call today from [redacted], who is hot for the Gleaner to be removed while the bloke's got the cuffs on,' Coburn wrote to colleagues on January 16.

But he said council officers could not simply take it away.

'At this stage, we cannot intervene immediately or remove what is effectively someone's home without following the appropriate legal process.'

Although the owner was known to be incarcerated at the time, Coburn said the vessel could not legally be considered abandoned.

'It is not in the possession of Council, and we do not currently have the authority to remove it without following due process.'

Instead, Maritime Services had been trying to persuade the owner to voluntarily sign the vessel over so it could be removed.

'While there was initially some agreement to this approach, our officers subsequently had an incident with the owner, after which he changed his position and declined to relinquish ownership of the vessel.'

A 2023 note from a previous owner says he gave it to “[redacted] (surname unknown) on the condition he was taking the vessel away from Thames”.

But that never happened.

On the day of its final salvage after the sinking, the occupant was nearby watching but did not engage with staff.

Coburn had also warned that removing the vessel before it became a hazard would come at a considerable cost.

'It is also important to note that removal of the vessel at this stage would come at a significant cost to the ratepayer, estimated in the order of $50,000,“ Coburn later wrote.

'Without clear legislative authority or a declaration of abandonment or hazard, Council cannot justify incurring this cost.'

The documents show authorities had long recognised the vessel as a problem and council staff were conscious of keeping costs down while dealing with it once it eventually sank.

A report prepared after the sinking said the Gleaner had been moored alongside Shortland Wharf for about two to three years and, although recently occupied by a rough sleeper, was 'for all intents and purposes considered derelict'.

It said Ngāti Maru, which manages the wharf, and Waikato Regional Council Maritime Services had previously undertaken unsuccessful efforts to establish ownership and remove the vessel.

The vessel's most recent known occupier had 'no fixed abode or contact details', repeatedly denied ownership and had previously been 'threatening and physically aggressive' towards council staff, requiring police intervention, the report said.

Despite its condition, the vessel had been considered structurally buoyant and posed no immediate environmental threat before the cyclone struck.

That changed on April 12.

Emergency logs show police contacted Thames-Coromandel District Council before dawn after becoming concerned the vessel's weight was pulling the timber wharf away from the adjoining concrete structure.

Another report recorded the vessel was taking on water while moving the wharf by about 100 millimetres, prompting advice for members of the public to call 111.

The wharf was subsequently closed as the vessel listed and sank alongside the structure.

Council staff were also advised Coburn and Ngāti Maru adviser Craig Solomon had already been 'working in a joint process to try to remove the vessel previously'.

Correspondence released under the LGOIMA shows Ngāti Maru had also been pressing for a resolution.

On April 14, Solomon wrote the iwi had spent the previous six months working with Waikato Regional Council and other agencies to address the problem.

'As you can appreciate, this has been an ongoing concern for us, particularly given the risks associated with it remaining in its current state,' he wrote.

He asked for an agreed removal plan and timeline, saying the vessel should be removed from the Thames wharf within a month.

'It is important for us that we do not find ourselves in the same position again, where the vessel remains in place without a defined pathway for resolution.'

The documents also reveal confusion within councils over ownership of the wharf itself.

One Thames-Coromandel District Council staff member said they had been advised iwi owned the wharf and had been managing it for two to three years.

Another replied: 'The ownership of the wharf is a bit confusing, but it is fair to say that Ngāti Maru has been managing the wharf.'

In response to media questions at the time, Thames-Coromandel District Council said it began a process in 2017 to transfer ownership of the wharf to Ngāti Maru, but that process had been delayed by legal and Treaty settlement issues. It said Ngāti Maru had operated the wharf since 2020.