A recent history of Cook Strait ferry woes

A Bluebridge ferry losing power and drifting in the Cook Strait is just the latest in a series of disruptions, delays and issues with ferries.

In recent years, Interislander and its competitor Bluebridge (managed by StraitNZ and owned by New York-based investment fund Morgan Stanley) have both faced recurring mechanical challenges, with many sailings cancelled and passengers reporting difficulty getting alternative bookings.

RNZ has put together a timeline of the breakdowns of the Cook Strait ferries over the past two years:

The Bluebridge ferry Connemara loses power and starts drifting in Cook Strait.

The ferry, which had 88 people on board, blacked out around 10.30pm on September 19, not long into its freight sailing bound for Picton, near Sinclair Head.

The Aratere ferry runs aground on June 21, with 47 people aboard - prompting inquiries from the transport agency, Maritime New Zealand and the Transport Accident Investigation Commission.

A leaked Interislander safety bulletin said a crew member accidentally executed a course change through the ship's auto pilot system soon after it left its Picton berth.

The crew then struggled for nearly a minute to regain control of the boat, but by then it was too late to stop the ferry crashing into the shore of Titoki Bay.

On 25 May, another Bluebridge ferry, the Strait Feronia, loses power coming into Wellington Harbour.

A passenger on board told RNZ at the time the ferry gave a "great shudder" and stopped, and all the lights went off.

The ferry restarted minutes later and continued on to port.

In peak tourist season, all passenger sailings on the Kaiārahi ferry are cancelled for several days.

The Cook Strait ferry was still able to carry freight, but had to put off taking passengers until a mechanical fault was fixed.

On November 8, 2023, Bluebridge's Connemara hits Glasgow Wharf as it is leaving Wellington, and is turned back before passengers were disembarked. The incident left a "decent dent" on the hull and a small hole above the waterline. Engineers were assessing the damage to the wharf.

Soon after, on November 12, Interislander's Kaiārahi is damaged during berthing, leaving a 1m-long hole in the hull.

Wellington harbourmaster Grant Nalder said at the time while it looked "quite dramatic", the hole was high up on the hull, away from the waterline. He was not able to provide a reason why there had been two incidents a week apart.

On August 9, a small number of passengers were forced to spend the night on the Kaitaki anchored in Wellington Harbour, after it had to turn back from a sailing due to steering issues. An Interislander spokesperson said the ship retained steering control through backup systems.

Sailings of the Kaitaki were cancelled on August 22 after a bow door was damaged by a large wave during a crossing. KiwiRail said during predeparture preparations for another sailing it was found the door could not realign before closing. It was back in service the next day following repairs.

On 3 April Bluebridge cancels multiple sailings of the Strait Feronia for two days, due to engineering faults. However it had no space for any more vehicles on its other sailings within a few weeks of the cancelled services.

Meanwhile, the Interislander's Kaitaki was unavailable for part of the month due to gearbox issues.

The Kaitaki is taken out of service after new engineering problems with its gearbox.

The repair took more than a month and a media release by Interislander said it was a complicated process, requiring parts to be shipped from Germany and specialist support from the Netherlands. The ferry was back in full service by April 12.

Thousands of passengers who had planned to cross Cook Strait with the two ferry services are left sleeping on couches and Picton streets clogged with cars, after sailings are cancelled for Bluebridge's Connemara and Interislander's Kaiārahi due to "engineering issues".

The Kaitaki loses power amid 3m swells and high winds off Wellington's south coast, and drifts nearly a mile off course, with about 880 people on board.

The crew managed to restore power, to slowly sail into the harbour about seven hours after leaving Picton.

The fault was later identified as a leak in the cooling system due to an old engine part that ruptured.

KiwiRail was sentenced in the Wellington District Court under the Health and Safety at Work Act of exposing people to risk of harm and was forced to pay $432,500.

rnz.co.nz

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