Ferry Holdings to pull back on regular updates about new Cook Strait ferries

Saturday, 21 March 2026

The company tasked with delivering the Government’s new Cook Strait ferries will be providing regular updates for ministers less often, despite port contracts not yet being signed.

New rail-enabled ferries and upgraded ports in Wellington and Picton were expected to be running in 2029 with a price tag of $1.86 billion.

The Post revealed last month that the agreements with CentrePort and Port Marlborough were yet to be signed.

Treasury documents from December released under the Official Information Act show Ferry Holdings Limited had planned to sign both agreements for the ferries and the ports together.

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“While it was originally envisaged that the two port agreements would be agreed at the same time as the ship contracts, they remain a work in progress.”

The ship contracts were signed in November.

The documents also showed Treasury-backed plans which have now been confirmed to change the requirement for Ferry Holdings to regularly report on the project from monthly to quarterly.

The agency did note when updates were provided they needed to be “comprehensive”.

That included reporting on any national and cybersecurity risks associated with the ferry project.

Ferry Holdings chairperson Chris MacKenzie told The Post the original project plan of signing agreements for the ports and ferries at the same time was to align risk, cost, and delivery timelines.

In practice the port agreements involved different counter-parties, commercial terms and confirmation scope which “progressed on a different timetable to the ship procurement“, MacKenzie said.

He did not expect the negotiations to affect the overall delivery timeline for the new ferries and port upgrades.

When asked about the reporting change, Rail Minister Winston Peters told The Post it affected only retrospective briefings, not proactive ones to manage any issues.

“Experienced ministers know that amassing briefings telling them what has happened often sets you adrift, as by the time they reach you the issue has happened already. ”

Peters said he met regularly with the Ferry Holdings board and received specific briefings when required.

“As a result we are staying the course.”

He said the competence of the board was a reason why the taxpayer had saved “$2.3 billion without compromising on the ferries and infrastructure New Zealand needs”.

MacKenzie said the company was not concerned about the reporting change despite port agreements not being signed.

'Ferry Holdings proposed moving to a quarterly reporting after the ship’s contract were signed.“

McKenzie said that was outlined as an option for the company in its project delivery agreement with the Government.

Both CentrePort and Port Marlborough referred The Post to Ferry Holdings for comment.