A man, who was charged with piloting a boat that crashed into a packed ferry in the Bay of Islands last year, has pleaded guilty on Monday morning.
James Thomson appeared at the Auckland District Court on Monday, where he entered a guilty plea to the charge of dangerous activity involving ships, through his lawyer Honor Lanham.
The crash, which happened in April last year, left 77-year-old ferry skipper Bill Elliott with a serious spinal injury.
He was the owner and operator of the Bay of Islands' Waitere Ferry, also known as the Blue Ferry.
Thomson, 48, has been remanded at large, and will reappear for sentencing in the Auckland District Court in June.
