1998 1 June
Toroa sinks alongside Birkenhead Wharf during a severe storm with high winds from the southwest.
Exactly what happened was not clear—the live-aboard caretaker was away for the weekend; the ferry took waves aboard through a missing length of planking just below the starboard after deck; the high-level alarm was switched off (some believe by occupants of a house-truck in the adjacent reserve) which also switched off the submersible bilge pumps; and the ferry sank.