Cook Strait ferries ‘not fit for purpose’

Friday, 11 August 2023

The latest Cook Strait ferry blunder has led to serious questions about whether the ageing fleet can hang in until new ships arrive.

When Kaitaki had steering issues on Wednesday night, there was a sense of deja vu with it coming on the back of a series of ferry failures, the most dramatic of which saw Kaitaki drifting without power towards the coast on January 28 with 864 people on board.

Transport Minister David Parker on Thursday refused to say he had confidence in the safety of the Interislander ferries and referred safety questions to Maritime NZ, which said it was comfortable with KiwiRail’s approach in returning the ship to service.

“I have been advised the ship could have sailed to Picton, but the decision to return to Wellington was a safety first, cautious approach,” Parker said in a statement.

But Jon Reeves, of the Public Transport Users Association, on Thursday said he believed the ferries were “getting beyond the state of fit for purpose”.

“I myself would be questioning whether I would want to book a ticket [ on Kaitaki].”

KiwiRail is expecting brand-new Cook Strait ferries in 2025 then 2026 but, with an ageing fleet, Reeves said until then passengers could expect “even more breakdowns and mishaps”.

Interislander’s Aratere was built in 1999, Kaitaki was built in 1995 and joined Interislander 10 years later, while Kaiarahi was built in 1998. Reeves said the ferry types had a life-expectancy of about 30 years so were now heading towards retirement.

New ferries should have been ordered nine or 10 years ago, when National was in power, he said.

Bill Bamber, general manager of trucking company KAM, said Interislander seemed to be improving until Wednesday’s problem, which left him no longer confident he could get trucks across.

“These incidents are not isolated. There will be more to come because the ships are old,” he said. “I can’t see a change any time soon.”

Scott McPherson, from Whanganui, said he would never use Cook Strait ferries again after getting stranded for a week in the South Island in February due to summer ferry problems. He had problems with Interislander and Bluebridge but at least the latter was looking at some sort of compensation.

“Interislander totally stonewalled,” he said.

National transport spokesperson Simeon Brown said a number of recent reports showed KiwiRail maintenance had not been up to scratch and the company needed to do “everything they can” to make sure it was sufficient.

There were “significant concerns”, particularly from freight companies, about the Cook Strait connection, and whether new terminals for the new ferries would be built in time, he said.

“By and large they are safe but they also present significant safety concerns which gives the public [cause] to be concerned,” Brown said.

Interislander operations general manager Duncan Roy said Kaitaki returned to Wellington on Wednesday because the ship master was being “appropriately cautious”. The issue with the main steering system was fixed on Thursday morning and the ship left again with additional passengers.

Salvage tug advice remains under wraps

Associate Transport Minister Damien O’Connor has received advice on Wellington having a salvage tug but is keeping it under wraps.

The issue of Wellington no longer having a salvage tug - a boat able to tow ships stricken in open water to safety - was highlighted when Kaitaki lost power in Cook Strait on January 28. While Wellington’s two harbour tugs raced to her aid, it later transpired they would have been little help if needed as Wellington had gotten rid of its tugs with open water salvage ability.

Then it was again highlighted when 66,000-tonne container ship the Shiling had a steering and power failure of Farewell Spit and needed rescuing. The salvage tug that raced from Taranaki only happened to be in New Zealand at the time.

The Government in early June asked Maritime NZ for “urgent advice on the potential options on emergency towage capability”.

O’Connor on Thursday confirmed he had received “preliminary but substantive advice” and had sent a “small sub-set of stakeholders” away for refine details on options.

His office refused to release that advice citing commercial confidence.