Interislander ferry Kaiarahi has ‘dramatic’ hole in hull after berthing incident

Sailings for the Cook Strait ferry Kaiarahi have been cancelled after a large hole was ripped in the hull of the boat.

Wellington harbourmaster Grant Nalder said the hole above the waterline in the Interislander ferry “looks quite dramatic”.

“You can actually see through to the other side of the ship.”

A service alert from Interislander this morning told passengers all sailings had been cancelled for today while the ship undergoes repairs.

“We are working to add additional sailings of Aratere and Kaitaki to our schedule to accommodate displaced bookings. If you have bookings on any affected sailings we will be in touch directly regarding your booking.”

Nalder said the Kaiarahi was damaged at its 10pm berthing on Sunday night and the gash was about one metre across.

“It’s obviously not good for the ship but it is high up on the hull, it’s away from the waterline and it happened as it came into the berth.

“The ship itself is quite safe in the harbour - there’s no risk there - but they’ve got a bit of work to do before it can resume service.”

The general manager of Interislander operations, Duncan Roy, told NZME the damage occurred when the ship came into berth yesterday at around 10pm.

“Kaiarahi came into contact with a fender on the wharf and sustained some damage to its hull. Assessment and repairs are being conducted in Wellington immediately.”

He said an internal investigation is under way and Interislander will be able to comment further once it is completed.

“The relevant authorities have been informed and we are working with them where appropriate. We are working to move passengers and commercial customers to alternative sailings and are putting on additional sailings of our other ferries.”

Last week, a Bluebridge ferry had to turn back after it hit a wharf as it was leaving Wellington, causing a dent and a small hole in the hull.

The Connemara hit the southern end of Glasgow Wharf on November 8, and was sailing towards the entrance to the channel when the operator Straits NZ decided it should turn back.

Nalder said at the time risk had been low given the size of the hole, its height above the water, and that it was going into a relatively small compartment.

I haven’t got a good reason why you get two of them a week apart,” Nalder told RNZ on Monday.

“It’s unconnected events that happen around the same time.”

“Over the life of all the ferries, they’re in and off the berth so often that you do get things go wrong and damage does occur.”

Nalder said he and Maritime New Zealand were notified on Sunday night, and Interislander would investigate the accident.

Interislander would have to get approval before the ferry could leave from Aotea Quay.

“All the repairs will have to be signed off before the ship can resume sailing.”

Asked about passenger confidence leading into the holiday season, he said there was never any good time of year for something like this, and especially not going into peak times.

The ferry operators were going to be “somewhat more on edge” and very aware of this over the coming weeks, to make sure they could provide their service over the busy time, he said.