Fullers ferry breakdown leaves hundreds stranded in Auckland’s Devonport

Thursday, 22 August 2019

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).

Hundreds of commuters were left stranded after the main ferry at Devonport terminal malfunctioned on Thursday morning, bringing services to a halt.

Cancellations of services between Auckland's Viaduct Harbour, Devonport and Waiheke Island have been a recurring issue for the under-fire Fullers Ferry service in recent months, with several cancellations taking place earlier in the week.

Fullers360 chief executive Mike Horne apologised to customers and said the service had a difficult week operationally.

“We recognise that this has had an impact on our customers' days and share your frustrations,” he said.

Fullers currently has a special status which exempts its ferry services from Auckland Transport oversight and competitive tendering rules.

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The incident occurred in peak commuter time and was due to 'simple failure'. However Horne said it took the service time to identify the issue, leading to the level of disruption experienced.

Horne said he knew the situation wasn't ideal and recognised the need for more high-capacity vessels for the Devonport and Waiheke routes.

Auckland councillor for the North Shore ward Chris Darby said Fullers had reached peak failure.

'We recently invested $15 million in two 400-seat, four-engine jet propulsion vessels which will provide further resilience to the routes,' he said.

About a hundred commuters were affected, with many taking to Facebook to vent their frustrations.

'This is an embarrassing way to run a public service,' a person wrote.

Auckland councillor for the North Shore ward Chris Darby said Fullers had reached peak failure.

“Despite numerous meetings Auckland Transport, the mayor and I have had with Fullers, their CEO's promises have proven to be hollow,' he said.

'Tomorrow I will be at the wharf with councillor Richard Hills to outline what we see as the only way forward, to have the Minister of Transport intervene and remove Fullers' 'exempt' from regulatory oversight status.'

Fullers currently has a special status which exempts its ferry services from Auckland Transport oversight and competitive tendering rules.

Darby has a petition to remove this special status which has received more than 4200 signatures and is due to close next week.