Ferry cancellations: Ports of Auckland slams Fullers 360 over cruise ship allegations

Wednesday, 22 January 2020

Locals from across Waiheke Island gathered at Morra Hall in Oneroa in June to listen to what Fullers had to say about their concerns with the ferry service to and from Auckland city (Video first published October 2019).

Ports of Auckland is slamming a ferry company after claims out-of-schedule cruise ship berthing is to blame for cancelled ferry services.

Ferry service provider Fullers 360 asked authorities for an 'urgent intervention' on Tuesday after four ferries were cancelled in a week, preventing hundreds of Auckland commuters from getting to work on time.

Chief executive officer Mike Horne claimed cruise ships berthing outside of their schedule at the harbour at downtown Auckland had caused 'significant disruptions' and it was unsafe to run services due to 'extreme and unpredictable' water turbulence caused by the cruise ships.

Fuller 360 CEO Mike Horne previously said cruise ships berthing in the ferry basin outside of schedule meant it had to cancel some services in the moment (file photo).

Jenny Nicholls, who uses the Waiheke Island ferry every day to get to work in the Auckland CBD, told Stuff she was frustrated with the cancellations.

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Ports of Auckland spokesman Matt Ball said no cruise ships had been late recently, and most were usually berthed by 7am, within the Harbourmaster's restrictions.

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Hundreds of commuters were left stranded at Matiatia Ferry Terminal on Waiheke Island as Tuesday's 7.30am service to Auckland was cancelled.

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But Ports of Auckland, which is responsible for scheduling cruise ship arrivals and departures from the basin, said no cruise ships had been late recently.

The Harbourmaster prohibits cruise ships from entering the port due to increased harbour traffic between 7.30am and 9am, and 4.30pm and 6pm Monday to Friday.

'We honestly do not know why Fullers are doing this. There is no change to the berthing process from previous years, which haven't caused problems,' spokesman Matt Ball said.

The only thing that could possibly affect congestion on the harbour was ongoing construction in the ferry basin, he said, which had reduced the available space and the number of ferry berths.

However, most cruise ships were tied up by about 7am – half an hour before the Harbourmaster's restrictions came into play. This was the case on Tuesday, Ball added.

The schedule for the cruise ships was created and published 12 months in advance.

Questioned about Ball's revelations, Horne said the schedules clashed.

The construction in the ferry basin had impeded operations for both cruise ships and ferries, he said.

'This is a peak operating time and is challenging to plan for a network wide ferry service for commuters.'

He said Fullers had planned 'rigorously' for its summer services, when the quantity and frequency of cruise ships visiting Auckland peaked.

'We apologise sincerely to any of our customers whose planned trips have been disrupted as a result of this and our team are working exceptionally hard over peak summer season, to honour our schedule and get people where they need to be.'

Fullers 360 would update customers on cruise ship movements the day before, and disruptions as they occurred, with as much notice as possible, he said.

Auckland Mayor Phil Goff said the cancellations, and the inconvenience caused to Aucklanders, were 'unacceptable'.

Goff said he wanted to see the issue resolved and asked for a working party involving Fullers, Auckland Transport, Ports of Auckland and the cruise ship industry to be convened urgently, chaired by the Harbourmaster.

In a meeting with the parties on Wednesday, Goff asked them to address whether the morning cruise ship berthing restrictions should be extended, what the appropriate safety measures were for ferries during cruise ship berthing and whether a better mechanism for communication was needed.

The parties would report to elected councillors Chris Darby and Pippa Coom, Waiheke local board member Cath Handley and Auckland Central MP Nikki Kaye as soon as possible, he said.

Fullers operates services from Auckland City, Bayswater, Beach Haven, Birkenhead, Devonport, Hobsonville Point and Waiheke Island.

Last year close to 5000 people signed a petition to give Auckland Transport oversight of the Devonport and Waiheke Island services, which are exempt from Auckland Transport's Public Transport Operating Model.