Winston demands ferry answers, Interislander insists ‘no cover up’
Thursday, 11 July 2024
KiwiRail needs to be called for a please-explain after revelations the autopilot was on before Cook Strait ferry Aratere headed towards a Marlborough Sounds grounding, acting Prime Minister Winston Peters says.
However, the beleaguered operator, InterIslander, maintains “there is no cover up”.
But while Peters has come out swinging with a demand for answers “right here, right now” from KiwiRail, he said official calls for a please-explain from KiwiRail, would have to wait until Prime Minister Christopher Luxon returned to New Zealand.
And Luxon, speaking in Washington DC, said any conclusions now were based on “stories and rumours and reckons” and the Government would react once Maritime NZ and Transport Accident Investigation Commission reports into the June 21 grounding were published.
The Post on Wednesday revealed that a leaked internal safety bulletin showed that the autopilot had been turned on after the Interislander ferry left dock in Picton on the night of June 21.
An “execute” button was accidentally pressed, causing the ship to veer off course one nautical mile early. Deck crew were unable to disconnect the autopilot until it was too late to stop the ferry grounding.
Duncan Roy, Interislander executive general manager, on Thursday confirmed a button on the autopilot was inadvertently pushed, which resulted in the change of course.
“We know the button was pushed. We don’t know why, we don’t know how and that’s what we’re attempting to find out.”
Roy said within hours of Aratere being refloated, independent investigators were onboard receiving bridge data, reviewing ship logs, and conducting preliminary interviews with the crew. That was “the opposite” of a cover-up, he said.
Two independent investigations are under way and KiwiRail is doing its own internal investigation.
Maritime NZ has confirmed investigations will “look at its processes, procedures, training, risk management as well as looking at how it brings on new equipment and familiarises its personnel”.
While the Aratere autopilot was installed in 2007 — the year the first iPhone was released — it recently had a new steering system installed.
The Aratere was placed under detention by Maritime NZ but that was lifted on Wednesday, allowing for it to return to service — albeit with limitations.
Peters said the New Zealand public needed answers “right here, right now” about what went wrong on the night of June 21, especially as the ship returned to service.
“We are not going to wait for months for public relations and damage control,” he said.
But he was not going to use his role as acting prime minister to officially demand answers. Luxon is expected back in the country towards the end of the weekend.
“I’m going to make sure we have them telling us the facts,” Peters said.
He said it was “impossible” that deck crew had not been trained to turn the autopilot off.
“Give us a break, we are not stupid,” he said.
The bigger question was why the ship was in autopilot so close to dock and land, he said.
Marlborough harbourmaster Jake Oliver has confirmed that the ship was allowed to have autopilot engaged in the area but Peters said it was “plain common sense” that it shouldn’t have been allowed.
NZ First this week asked, via social media, if someone on the deck had the autopilot on and went for a coffee on the night of the grounding. The coffee claim has been rejected by Maritime NZ and the union representing the bridge crew.
Peters has said the tweet was a party matter but the so-called coffee could have actually been someone on the deck using the bathroom, combing their hair or having a shave.
Asked whether heads at KiwiRail should roll as a result of the incident, Peters said it was not for him to say “but I do have a thought”.
ACT leader David Seymour did not want to be drawn into the latest reveal, saying the bodies investigating should be left to do their jobs.
However, Peters had “every right to bring to light important information he has”.