Aratere passengers stuck on board for hours due to electrical fault
KiwiRail said the ferry left Picton at about 8.50pm, but then "experienced an unexpected issue with its propulsion drive" while sailing.
That issue was fixed at about 1am and the vessel resumed its trip to Wellington, arriving later in the early hours.
Aratere breaks down mid-service while the Kaiarahi is laid up for repairs. (Source: 1News)
"Unfortunately, we will have to cancel the 6.15am Thursday morning sailing from Wellington to Picton and the 11.00am Picton to Wellington return sailing while we undertake further testing," a spokesperson said.
ADVERTISEMENT
"Interislander's customer service teams are currently amending bookings due to these cancellations. All affected customers will be offered an alternative sailing. If the alternative sailing is not suitable, passengers are welcome to reschedule for no additional cost.
"We apologise for the inconvenience."
The morning's headlines in 90 seconds including passengers stuck on ferry overnight, new flights to Sydney coming, and the weirdest things we leave in Ubers. (Source: 1News)
Seven commercial vehicle drivers and four foot passengers were on board the ferry while it was anchored for hours, waiting for a specialist electrician to arrive.
"We are looking after the customers on board and once the vessel returns to port, we will transfer them to alternative sailings," the spokesperson earlier said.
It was initially expected the vessel would need to return to its Picton berth and a tug was on stand-by to provide assistance.
In April, another electrical fault on the Aratere, with a hydraulic pump, saw a Wellington to Picton crossing and its return journey cancelled.
ADVERTISEMENT
Breakdown comes just two months before ferry's retirement
The Aratere made headlines when it ran aground last year.
It beached in Titoki Bay, near Picton, on June 21, after its steering autopilot was mistakenly engaged and staff were unable to switch it off. It was refloated on 23 June.
Last month, KiwiRail announced the ferry would be retired by the end of August to make way for the construction of new port infrastructure in Picton.
The ferry - which can hold 650 passengers, 230 cars and 28 rail wagons - is the only rail-enabled ferry in Interislander's fleet, and requires specialised loading and unloading infrastructure.
Two new rail-enabled ferries are not due to arrive until 2029.
Announcing its retirement, Rail Minister Winston Peters said it would have cost $120 million to keep the Aratere in service.
"We will not waste one tax dollar on shuffling infrastructure to keep the vessel in service for the sake of it or add any infrastructure risk to our objective of completion in 2029."
rnz.co.nz
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
18 hours ago
- RNZ News
Cook Strait ferry sailings cancelled, road snowfall warnings as winter weather plays havoc
Both Bluebridge and Interislander cancelled ferry sailings across the Cook Strait on Tuesday. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone Several Cook Strait ferries have been cancelled with a strong southerly weather system forecast to bring large swells to Cook Strait on Tuesday. All Bluebridge sailings for the remainder of the day have been cancelled. Bluebridge said all customers affected by the cancellations had been advised by email or text. It said it was monitoring the situation closely and if further sailings were impacted they would advise customers. Interislander had also cancelled sailings for Tuesday afternoon. Kaiārahi's 3:30pm sailing from Wellington and its 9:30pm return from Picton and Kaitaki's 2:15pm sailing from Picton and its 8:30pm from Wellington were all cancelled. "All impacted passengers have been contacted directly and moved to alternative sailings," Interislander said. "There may be further disruptions to other sailings if the forecast swells don't ease." Meanwhile, further down the South Island near Queenstown a section of the Lindis Pass between Omarama and Tarras has reopened after snow closed it earlier on Tuesday morning. Drivers were advised to take extra care along the route. State Highway 8 between Fairlie and Lake Pukaki in the Mackenzie Basin remained closed. Road snowfall warnings were in place for a number of areas, including the South Island's alpine passes, and the Desert Road in the central North Island. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Scoop
a day ago
- Scoop
Aratere Retires After Final Voyage Across Cook Strait
Article – RNZ Tug boats sprayed water into the air as a sign of respect for Aratere. Nick James, Journalist Aratere has crossed Cook Strait for the final time after 26 years of service. The Interislander ferry left Picton at around 11am and arrived in Wellington just after 2pm on Monday. Tug boats sprayed water into the air as a sign of respect for Aratere. Onboard cabin crew were giving out free chocolate cupcakes to passengers with blue icing, with the Aratere stickered on top. There was also a memory wall set up with blue and yellow balloons and a sign which said 'we will miss you'. The ferry is being retired so new port infrastructure can be built for two new ships set to arrive in 2029. In its time serving the Interislander, the ship has made 53,000 crossings and taken more than five million passengers across Cook Strait. Jon Love was on one of its first sailings in 1999 and was a passenger onboard Monday's journey. Love said he'll feel sad to see it leave service. 'I've always had a big interest in ferries, particularly our ferries, our rail ferries here in New Zealand, since I was a young boy,' he said. 'Being able to say I have been on the first and now the last, again its a bit of a mixed bag for me.' He said it would be a loss for the service. 'They are definitely going to feel the loss and from an operational perspective it is going to hit hard.' Lachie Deans and his support worker Scott Wallace made a special trip over to Picton to be on Aratere's last trip. Lachie said it was a memorable ferry for him. 'I have liked her since I was really young, and it is really sad to see her go after 26 years in service,' he said. Scott said it had been great to talk to crew that have served on Aratere. 'It is kind of cool chatting to everyone on there and just seeing how sad and happy people are.' Aratere was set to lay in Wellington port till its future was confirmed by KiwiRail.
Scoop
a day ago
- Scoop
Aratere Retires After Final Voyage Across Cook Strait
Aratere has crossed Cook Strait for the final time after 26 years of service. The Interislander ferry left Picton at around 11am and arrived in Wellington just after 2pm on Monday. Tug boats sprayed water into the air as a sign of respect for Aratere. Onboard cabin crew were giving out free chocolate cupcakes to passengers with blue icing, with the Aratere stickered on top. There was also a memory wall set up with blue and yellow balloons and a sign which said "we will miss you". The ferry is being retired so new port infrastructure can be built for two new ships set to arrive in 2029. In its time serving the Interislander, the ship has made 53,000 crossings and taken more than five million passengers across Cook Strait. Jon Love was on one of its first sailings in 1999 and was a passenger onboard Monday's journey. Love said he'll feel sad to see it leave service. "I've always had a big interest in ferries, particularly our ferries, our rail ferries here in New Zealand, since I was a young boy," he said. "Being able to say I have been on the first and now the last, again its a bit of a mixed bag for me." He said it would be a loss for the service. "They are definitely going to feel the loss and from an operational perspective it is going to hit hard." Lachie Deans and his support worker Scott Wallace made a special trip over to Picton to be on Aratere's last trip. Lachie said it was a memorable ferry for him. "I have liked her since I was really young, and it is really sad to see her go after 26 years in service," he said. Scott said it had been great to talk to crew that have served on Aratere. "It is kind of cool chatting to everyone on there and just seeing how sad and happy people are." Aratere was set to lay in Wellington port till its future was confirmed by KiwiRail.
