Interislander knew ill-fated Kaitaki ferry had missed safety critical work

Saturday, 6 May 2023

The 18-year-old rubber expansion joint that failed on the Kaitaki.

Cook Strait ferry the Kaitaki was allowed back into service despite KiwiRail knowing a “safety critical” component, which later failed with near-catastrophic results, had not been replaced as planned.

KiwiRail chief executive Peter Reidy – who has this week alone dealt with massive train disruptions in Wellington, train cancellations in Auckland, and faced questions from the transport subcommittee in Parliament – has outlined what happened in the weeks leading up to January 28, when the Kaitaki lost all power crossing Cook Strait.

It comes after the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) on Friday launched a preliminary report into the incident. It showed the part that failed was a “safety critical” rubber expansion joint that sat on a shelf for 13 years before getting installed five years before the failure. This was well beyond manufacturer guidelines, the TAIC report alleged.

TAIC chief accident investigator Naveen Kozhuppakalam said rubber components were susceptible to cracking and delamination.

Reidy accepted the part should have never been installed after sitting unused for so long and said KiwiRail now had better systems to keep track of the age of stock. However, the five years since the product had been installed put it beyond KiwiRail’s own timeframe for replacement.

The part should have been replaced when it went to dry dock in Sydney in September 2022, but the job was missed. This was picked up when it returned to service and the replacement was scheduled for March. The ship was allowed to return to service

“I don’t agree you can say it was not safe to sail,” he said, adding there was no evidence it was unsafe.

There were 864 people on board the Kaitaki when the 18-year-old rubber component blew and power was cut to all four engines.

The Kaitaki lost power and drifted in a strong southerly towards the coast. (File photo)

The ship drifted in a strong southerly for a nautical mile towards the rocky coast of the southern North Island. The captain issued a mayday and a large-scale rescue effort swung into action.

However, the anchors stopped the drift before the ship struck land and engineers aboard managed to restart the engines. The Kaitaki limped back into Wellington Harbour under tug boat escort.

Reidy alleged EagleBurgmann, which supplied the failed part, only introduced guidelines for when the part should be replaced after the Kaitaki incident. Lance Maisey, from EagleBurgmann in Australia, on Friday confirmed the guidelines had been in place for at least a decade.

KiwiRail had for a while obtained the safety critical parts from other suppliers with longer replacement guidelines. KiwRail‘s own processes meant they were replaced sooner than the guidelines stipulated.

A rubber expansion joint which ruptured in the cooling system (right), compared with an intact example of the product.

All safety critical components had now been replaced by the new parts.

TAIC chief accident investigator Naveen Kozhuppakalam said rubber components were susceptible to cracking and delamination, and could become soft and gummy.

“They should be taken out of service before their natural ageing process puts them at unacceptable risk of failure,” he said.

“Ship operators need to follow the manufacturer’s instructions, which say the [rubber expansion joints] should be no older than eight months when installed, inspected annually and replaced after five years.

“Kaitaki’s ruptured [component] was 13 years old when installed in 2018 and 18 years old by the time it broke.

“This happened because KiwiRail had not followed the manufacturer’s advice; even under KiwiRail’s own system, the [component] was two months overdue for replacement.”

TAIC is still working on a wider investigation into the issue but issued a preliminary report due to the safety issue that could affect other ships.