The first hearing in the case against a skipper and a fishing charter business linked to the sinking of the boat Enchanter has been heard.

Lance Goodhew, 58, and his company L and M Goodhew Ltd were charged by Maritime NZ following the fatal capsizing off North Cape on March 20 last year.

Goodhew, of Coopers Beach, owned and operated the Enchanter at the time of the sinking.

While Goodhew’s appearance was excused due to a prearranged trip, the case was called in the Kaitāia District Court on Thursday.

The hearing began with Judge Taryn Bayley acknowledging the five men who died in the boating tragedy, and their families and friends who attended the proceedings via audio-visual link.

Those men were Geoffrey James Allen, 72, Michael Patrick Lovett, 72, Richard Eldon Bright, 63, and Mark Keith Walker, 41, all from Cambridge, and Mark Kenneth Sanders, 43, from Te Awamutu.

Goodhew faces charges of exposing individuals to risk and harm and a breach of the Maritime Transport Act by failing to operate a ship with the prescribed qualified personnel.

Court documents allege he did not have a medical certificate at the time of the tragedy.

It is also alleged Goodhew breached his duties by leaving Three Kings Islands while having no regard for the weather and sea state at the time, proceeding to travel around North Cape and expose individuals to the risk of injury or death.

Wreckage of the Enchanter fishing boat floats on the surface of the ocean off the Northland coast. Photo / Supplied

In court, defence lawyer Stacey Fraser acknowledged the death of the men on behalf of Goodhew.

She said her client was not yet in a position to enter pleas to the charges.

Fraser made an application requesting an amendment be made to the charge filed against Goodhew. The prosecution stated they wanted time to consider the application.

Judge Bayley adjourned the matter until June 19 when the application will be heard. She said Goodhew will need to appear in person and pleas would be expected.

“There is to be no further delay.”

The Enchanter was chartered by a group of friends for a three-day fishing trip in what one described as “the trip of a lifetime”.

MetService had issued an “orange warning” for the 24-hour period on that day, meaning the weather was rough with high winds and rain.

When the boat was heading back to Mangonui, an emergency beacon was activated around 8pm

Deckhand, Kobe O’Neill said he heard a “massive thud”, understood to be a large wave that hit the boat near Murimotu Island taking out the flagstaff and sinking the vessel.

An operation was soon launched and rescue services eventually winched O’Neill and four others, including Goodhew, from the water.

Still from the helicopter rescue chopper during the rescue of men from the stricken charter fishing vessel Enchanter. Photo / Supplied

Lance Donnelly, a pilot of 30 years who attended the scene. later said it was “the most extreme, most challenging rescue I’ve ever done”.

Almost a month later a Northland Regional Council vessel, professional divers and dive bags were able to float the wreckage to the surface from 26m below sea level.

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission went on to conduct an inquiry into the sinking, alongside Police and Maritime NZ.

- Shannon Pitman, Open Justice