The captain, a 44-year old Philippine national, was remanded on bail without plea to a charge of "operating a vessel in a manner causing unnecessary danger or risk", which carries a maximum fine of NZ$10,000 or 12 months in prison.

The captain of a stricken container ship wedged on a reef off a New Zealand holiday spot appeared in court on Wednesday as fear grew the vessel may break up spewing more fuel-oil on to beaches in the country's worst environmental disaster in decades.
The 47,230-tonne Liberian-flagged Rena has been stranded on a reef 12 nautical miles off Tauranga on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island since running aground a week ago.
The captain, a 44-year old Philippine national, was remanded on bail without plea to a charge of "operating a vessel in a manner causing unnecessary danger or risk", which carries a maximum fine of NZ$10,000 ($7,810) or 12 months in prison.
Prime Minister John Key said the ship's hull was splitting.
"We have identified stress fractures on the boat so we can't rule out the risk of the ship breaking up," Key told reporters on a visit to the district.
The front half of the 236-metre (775-foot) ship is wedged firmly on the reef with the stern over 90-metre (295-foot) deep water.
Heavy swells and strong winds have pounded the vessel for two days, sending mostly empty containers tumbling off the ship, which is listing at about 18 degrees, into the heaving seas.
Weather forecasters said conditions should slowly improve over the next two days, with wind and seas easing.
Authorities said more than 30 containers have fallen off the ship, with some of them washed up on a small island, Motiti, about eight km (five miles) from the ship, and others bobbing in the sea.
The ship was carrying 1,368 containers, 11 of which are said to have hazardous substances in them. Shipping using the port of Tauranga, which is the country's biggest export port, was being re-routed away from the containers.
Authorities said the bad weather was helping to break up and disperse the estimated 300 tonnes of oil that escaped from the ship.
"That's a little bit frustrating because once the oil is on the beach we can actually deal with it, we can remove it from the beach relatively easily," said Ian Niblock, a spokesman for the clean up operation.