Scores ignore rain to welcome new Bluebridge ferry
RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Scores of people braved the rain in Wellington this morning to welcome a new Cook Strait ferry.
StraitNZ Bluebridge's
new Cook Strait ferry
Livia
arrived at Oriental Bay shortly before 9am on Thursday.
The vessel left Denmark six weeks ago, travelling to New Zealand via Portsmouth in the United Kingdom and the Panama Canal.
StraitNZ chief executive Shane McMahon said it was smooth sailing for the ferry as it made its way across two oceans to New Zealand.
Photo:
RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Previously sailing between Germany and Latvia, the
Livia
is a sister ship to StraitNZ's
Connemara
, which began service on Cook Strait in 2023.
The ferry which began sailing in 2008 will carry 500 passengers and include an extra deck for freight compared to the
Strait Feronia
which it will replace.
Strait Feronia
was built in 1997 and was able to carry 400 passengers.
McMahon said the
Livia
would increase the operator's capacity by 10 percent.
Photo:
RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Bluebridge's acquisition of the ferry marked a significant next step in the company's ongoing investment in Cook Strait infrastructure and capacity.
"
Livia
delivers an increase in both freight and passenger capacity, and we're very pleased to have secured a vessel of this quality and suitability for Cook Strait conditions."
The company currently holds 50 percent of the Cook Strait freight market and almost 40 percent of the passenger market.
Its competitor, the
Interislander
, which is owned by KiwiRail, currently has three Cook Strait ferries to Bluebridge's two, but will be retiring its
Aratere
ferry later this year.
It was not expected to replace the rest of its ageing fleet until new ships were delivered in 2029.
Over the next 20 days a number of procedural and safety aspects would take place for the
Livia,
including audits and the crew familiarising themselves with the ship.
Its first sailing is expected to be on 23 July.
Meanwhile, at least 100 people huddled in the rain along Oriental Bay this morning, waiting to catch a glimpse of the new ship as it was escorted into the harbour by tugs.
Among them was Amy who had travelled by train from Lower Hutt.
Susan Rosa and Pepi, who were also among the crowd, travel across the Cook Strait at least once a year and hoped to sail on the
Livia
on one of their future trips.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero
,
a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
an hour ago
- RNZ News
Tourism Holdings warns of hit to full year earnings
Campervan operator Tourism Holdings says reiterated that its full year underlying profit will be at the lower end of analysts' expectations of $27 million to $34.4m. Photo: Campervan operator and takeover target Tourism Holdings is warning of a hit to full year earnings from weaker vehicle sales, pressured bookings, and a possible writedown of an asset value. The company repeated for the second time in two months that its full year underlying profit will be at the lower end of investment analysts' expectations of $27 million to $34.4m. It made a similar warning in April when the consensus of forecasts was $45.2m. "The result for FY25 reflects continued near-term earnings pressure from the challenges impacting global RV (recreational vehicle) sales and, to a lesser extent, the USA market," the company said in a statement to the NZX. "Manufacturing divisions in Australia and New Zealand will also experience a year-on-year earnings decline, as manufacturing volumes decrease following the actions taken to right-size production and total inventory." Tourism Holdings reported a profit of $39.4m in the previous financial year. It said it was also looking at whether to make a write down in the value of assets, the principal item being goodwill of $36m associated with its US business. Goodwill is the value attached to intangible items such as brand value and software. "Given the uncertain outlook for international travel to the USA, THL expects that a goodwill impairment may be required," adding it was looking at other possible one-off items which would affect the bottom line. However, it said the start of the new financial year showed a double digit improvement in bookings in New Zealand and Australia, and single figures in the US. Last month Tourism Holdings said it had received an indicative takeover offer from a consortium comprising Australian private equity firm BGH Capital and the former owners of an Australian tourism business bought by THL. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
NZ Herald
an hour ago
- NZ Herald
New Zealand company linked to $113m UK tax money-laundering probe
A four-year tussle in United Kingdom courts looking into the alleged laundering of nine figures of unpaid tax heard a New Zealand-registered company was involved and listed the controller of the network as having an Auckland residential address. The UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) filed civil proceedings in 2020 alleging
RNZ News
2 hours ago
- RNZ News
Calls for financial complaints organisations to merge
Consumer advocates are pushing for financial complaints organisations to come under one entity, as a way to make it easier for the public to pursue complaints. Currently, the Banking Ombudsman, the Insurance and Financial Services Ombudsman, Financial Services Complaints Limited, and Fairway Dispute Resolution Service all deliver dispute resolution services, for various parts of the financial services sector. All banks, lenders, insurers and other financial service providers must belong to one of the schemes. But budget mentors want them to be rolled into a single agency, something that has already happened in Australia and the UK. Now, with parliament reviewing the legislation governing financial service providers, FinCap, the umbrella group for financial mentoring services says the time is right to reform the system. Kathryn speaks to FinCaps Senior Policy Advisor Jake Lilley.
