Marlborough’s Harbourmaster has confirmed an attempt to refloat the Aratere, which ran aground in the inner Picton Harbour on Friday night, will be made this evening around 9pm.
The refloating of Aratere, north of Bobs Bay, will be attempted on the evening’s high tide at around 9pm after taking more time to prepare the ship and make use of a higher tide.
Two tugs are planned to be used to refloat the grounded vessel — Maungatea and Monowai.
The tugs Maungatea and Monowai (in green) in place at the stern of the grounded Aratere. (Source: marinetraffic.com)
The operation, led by KiwiRail, is likely to take several hours.
Investigative work completed today informed a joint decision to refloat the vessel after the grounding pressure and vessel design of the ship was confirmed by divers, naval engineers, and technical experts.
The Interislander lost steering as it departed Picton, said the Transport Minster.
If the refloat is successful, the Aratere will be anchored, stabilised and moved to a berth, said Harbourmaster Jake Oliver.
"Oil spill booms had been put in place to protect against any possible environmental effects but there is no sign of any oil spill. These will be moved out of the way while the vessel is refloated."
Vehicles aboard the 183m ferry were rearranged earlier in the day to ensure the ferry was properly balanced before the attempt to refloat it, said Transport Minister Simeon Brown.
Satellite data from marinetraffic.com confirmed the two tugs left Picton Harbour, reaching the stricken stricken ferry just before 7.30pm.
Satellite data showing the tug Maungatea headed to the grounded ferry Aratere for a third time. (Source: marinetraffic.com)
The Monowai and the Maungatea have made two previous visits to the Aratere, including an earlier vaunted refloat effort on Saturday morning that was called off.
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