Simeon Brown confirms Interislander refloat attempt tonight

Saturday, 22 June 2024

Transport Minister Simeon Brown, left and Kaikoura MP Stuart Smith speak to the media about Interislander Aratere being stuck on rocks near Picton.

Transport Minister Simeon Brown says the Government is committed to a resilient Cook Strait ferry service, as several investigations are launched into the grounding of the Aratere on Friday night.

Aratere ran aground shortly after leaving Picton at 9.45pm on Friday following a steering failure, Interislander's general manager has said.

Speaking in Picton, Brown said the Government was committed to new ships despite having scrapped the iRex project, a decision he said the Government stood behind.

“We are committed to a resilient Cook Strait ferry,” he said.

The iRex project was based on purchasing ferries for which there were question marks around size and rail enablement, leading to significant land-side infrastructure costs which were becoming “prohibitive”.

“Even if iRex had stayed in place, this ship would have sailed today,” Brown said.

The expert ministerial advisory group looking at replacement options for the Cook Strait ferries made a final report to shareholding ministers in the past week. Ministers would consider that report shortly, Brown told reporters on Saturday afternoon.

Interislander ferry Aratere grounded near Picton on Friday night.

He said he understood crew lost the ability to steer the ship before it grounded. “My understanding is that there’s a new piece of equipment that was recently installed” Brown said.

The Government had been “very disappointed” about the incident, and about the asset management of the Interislander vessels. Maritime NZ had advised that maintenance had been improving recently, but there were still concerns, he said.

Everyone was grateful that there had been no loss of life, but there were still risks involved in getting the ship refloated which would be attempted tonight, he said.

A refloat attempt planned for Saturday morning was abandoned, so divers could take a proper look at the hull, and a new effort was planned for the next high tide, just before 10pm.

“There’s a lot of technical things needing to be done to put that into position,” for the boat to be refloated.

Maritime NZ was working very closely with KiwiRrail in terms of oil response.

Brown earlier reiterated his expectation that the Interislander fleet is safe and reliable as the Maritime Union describes the grounding as a “shocking conclusion to years of warnings about the ageing ferry fleet”.

The minister, who had been in Northland after a pylon collapsed, cutting power to the region, said he was being briefed by KiwiRail, the Ministry of Transport, and Maritime New Zealand.

Interislander ferry Aratere ran aground shortly after leaving Picton on Friday night.

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The ferry had a steering upgrade a month ago according to an email sent to customers.

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) has launched an investigation into what led to last night’s grounding, at Picton after a steering issue.

“These investigations will determine what went wrong and what can be done to prevent this happening again,“ Brown said.

There were 47 people onboard including crew, who spent the night on the ferry. There was not believed to be any livestock on the vessel.

One of the eight truck drivers who spent the night on the grounded Aratere said there had been “no dramas”.

Speaking briefly with Stuff reporter Matthew Hampson as he came ashore on Saturday morning, the driver, Cam, said “the crew was fantastic”.

The Interislander ferry Aratere ran aground near Picton.

When asked if it had been scary when the ship ran aground, he said it was “as gentle as could be” when the vessel hit soon after 9.45pm Friday.

There had been 39 crew onboard at the time of the incident, and 12 of them had also disembarked the ship with the truck drivers on Saturday morning. Some crew had been swapped over.

Steering upgraded

An email sent by KiwiRail on Friday said the ship’s steering had been upgraded during a wet dock last month, adding new mechanical systems. The email said software experts needed to run several patches to get the system working.

KiwiRail chief executive Peter Reidy this afternoon said the maintenance was proactive.

However The Maritime Union said gearbox issues had disrupted its schedule and it was awaiting parts from overseas.

Union national secretary Carl Findlay said union members were part of the crew, and they had been in regular communication with them.

“The ferry crews are experienced professionals and will be doing their jobs even in these extraordinary conditions, but of course we are concerned they have been placed in danger,” Findlay said, adding if the steering had failed during bad weather, or when the ship was in the Cook Strait, the outcome could have been disastrous.

“The Interislander ferries are at end of life, and there have been repeated incidents, such as the loss of power on the Kaitaki last year.

“If this incident does not shake the Government out of its complacency about the need for investment in new vessels and infrastructure, what will it take?”

Interislander ferry Aratere runs aground in Pine Bay, near Picton.

Findlay says the implications of the Aratere being out of action are very serious for the transport network, as it is the only rail capable ferry on the Cook Strait.

Other Interislander ferries are out of service or due for dry dock.

The Kaiarahi is in Picton undergoing maintenance, and the Kaitaki is due to go to Singapore dry dock in late July for scheduled maintenance.

TAIC chief investigator of accidents Naveen Kozhuppakalam is appointing a team of investigators who will be on site in Picton later today.

The Aratere had a 'steering failure' on Friday night, the Interislander general manager said.

“We’re gathering all the usual evidence and data for the start of this sort of investigation – including bridge voice and voyage data recordings and any video footage,” said Kozhuppakalam.

“Our investigators will be inspecting the ship, seeking and recovering electronic records and interviewing vessel crew, port authorities, and witnesses.

“Getting the facts straight is vital, so we’re keen to hear from passengers on board – especially those who have relevant video footage.”

Anyone with information is asked to email TAIC at info@taic.org.nz.

The investigation would initially focus on looking at time-sensitive evidence, as well as investigating the vessel itself, its history, performance, maintenance, equipment and design.

The Interislander fleet have been beset with issues, including a power outage on one last year that saw it adrift in Wellington Harbour. The Government rejected a billion-dollar funding top-up by KiwiRail in order to replace the ferries, last year.

Labour transport spokesperson Tangi Utikere said the latest incident “only further enforces the need for reliable and sustainable Cook Strait ferries that are built to last.

Green transport spokesperson Julie Anne Genter this morning said, '[Finance Minister] Nicola Willis's reckless decision to cancel the contract for new ferries without an alternative plan in place is disastrous for New Zealand.

“It's unbelievable really, and yet a hallmark of this coalition Government. They campaigned on funding public goods like infrastructure and cancer drugs to get people to vote for them - but instead they give tax cuts to landlords and are setting up our Interislander service for failure and then fire sale.'

Former prime minister Helen Clark also posted on social media, “Just saying: Didn’t someone cancel the order for badly needed new NZ inter-island ferries. Are we at risk of losing the vital link connecting the North & South Islands?”