Latest news with #DuncanRoy
1News
5 days ago
- General
- 1News
Final Cook Strait sailing for Aratere confirmed
The Aratere will make its final journey across Cook Strait later this month, KiwiRail has confirmed. The ship's final voyage would depart from Picton at 11am on August 18 2025. Its retirement comes as the Interislander ferry Kaiārahi was expected to return to service the same day after finishing its drydock maintenance in Singapore. "Freshly painted and with its hull cleaned, and a comprehensive maintenance schedule achieved, the ship is running well and currently making good progress towards Wellington," a KiwiRail spokesperson said. The Aratere had faced problems since it entered service in the 90s. ADVERTISEMENT Among the more notable troubles was a February 1999 voyage where the ship was left adrift due to several power failures. In July 2003, it collided with a fishing vessel. Four passengers and one crew member suffered minor injuries when rail and vehicular cargo shifted during heavy weather in March 2006, resulting in a 5-degree list all the way to Picton. In November 2013, it limped back to Picton after a fatigue fracture caused its propeller to break off. In February 2023, the ship briefly broke down and was left adrift in the middle of the Cook Strait. More recently, in June 2024, the Aratere ran aground near Picton. The steering autopilot had been engaged, and staff had been unable to switch it off, an investigation found. No one was injured, and the vessel was refloated two days afterwards, with damage to its bow that required repair. ADVERTISEMENT A private farewell for the crew would be held early next month. 'Significant milestone' ahead of upgraded fleet The Aratere's retirement would also allow for work on necessary port infrastructure upgrades, as its wharf in Picton is being demolished as part of the new rail-enabled ferry project. Rail Minister Winston Peters announced at the end of March that two new Cook Strait ferries would enter service in 2029, featuring rail decks and the capacity for 40 wagons. The Aratere's design required specialised wharf infrastructure to load and unload, including integrated rail tracks, which meant it could not use Interislander's other berths. The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including privacy concerns over road user charges, possible changes to Wellington's waterfront, and one of the biggest sports memorabilia heists ever. (Source: 1News) Interislander executive general manager Duncan Roy said the ship's retirement marked a "significant milestone" ahead of Kiwirail's move to a more modern fleet. ADVERTISEMENT 'This is the start of our preparation for the new ships, and while it will have some impact on capacity on Cook Strait until they arrive, we will make it as smooth as possible for our passengers and freight customers. No booking changes are required for freight customers or passengers as a new two-ship timetable is already in place," he said. 'The capacity of the two new ferries will be larger than our current fleet of three ships, so while this change is challenging, it's a necessary step towards a more efficient and sustainable future,' Roy said. 'As always, we encourage customers planning to travel during the peak summer season to book early and be flexible with their travel times.' To support its rail freight operations, Interislander would use "road bridging", where freight is moved by trailer onto its vessels and reconnected with trains at the other end. "Significant preparation has already gone into super-charging this operation – including bringing in new equipment, recruiting and training new staff and fine-tuning our rail freight handling processes," Roy said. 'Our transition timetable optimises the additional time needed for road bridging to ensure all rail freight will be serviced at the levels our rail freight customers need and expect. This has already been factored into current bookings. 'We are still considering options for the sale of Aratere after retirement, and the vessel will be laid up at its Wellington berth while we work with a shipbroker.'
Otago Daily Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
End of the line for Aratere ferry
KiwiRail has confirmed when its Interislander Aratere ferry is expected to make its final sailing. The ferry will be retired when Interislander ferry Kaiārahi returns to service following scheduled dry-dock maintenance in Singapore. KiwiRail has announced it expects Kaiārahi to return to service at 3.30pm on 18 August and anticipates Aratere's final scheduled Cook Strait sailing will depart Picton at 11am on the same day. Aratere has been plagued by problems in recent years. Among those, this year a propulsion fault meant the ferry had to wait at anchor for hours in Queen Charlotte Sound overnight while a specialist electrician came to fix the problem, while last year the ferry ran aground in Piction and was unable to be refloated until the following morning. The ship, which first entered service on the Cook Strait in 1999, is being retired ahead of port infrastructure work being done in preparation for the new rail-enabled ferries set to arrive in 2029. Arartere's wharf in Picton is due to be demolished later this year as part of the new ferry project and as it requires specific loading and unloading infrastructure, it cannot use the other Interislander wharf in Picton while port upgrades there and in Wellington. Interislander executive general manager Duncan Roy said the ferry's retirement was a significant milestone in the company's transition to a modernised fleet. "This is the start of our preparation for the new ships, and while it will have some impact on capacity on Cook Strait until they arrive, we will make it as smooth as possible for our passengers and freight customers. No booking changes are required for freight customers or passengers as a new two-ship timetable is already in place. "The capacity of the two new ferries will be larger than our current fleet of three ships, so while this change is challenging, it's a necessary step towards a more efficient and sustainable future," he said. To support rail freight operations, Interislander would use road-bridging, where rail freight was moved by trailer onto its vessels, and reconnected to trains at the other end. "Significant preparation has already gone into super-charging this operation - including bringing in new equipment, recruiting and training new staff and fine-tuning our rail freight handling processes," Roy said. "Our transition timetable optimises the additional time needed for road bridging to ensure all rail freight will be serviced at the levels our rail freight customers need and expect. This has already been factored into current bookings," he said. Roy said the business was still considering options for the sale of Aratere after retirement, and the vessel would be laid up at its Wellington berth while it worked with a shipbroker. A private farewell event for Aratere crew would be held early next month.
RNZ News
6 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Final sailing date for KiwiRail's Aratere ferry announced
Aratere has been plagued by problems in recent years. Photo: RNZ KiwiRail has confirmed when its Interislander Aratere ferry is expected to make its final sailing. The ferry will be retired when Interislander ferry Kaiārahi returns to service following scheduled dry-dock maintenance in Singapore. KiwiRail has announced it expects Kaiārahi to return to service at 3.30pm on 18 August and anticipates Aratere 's final scheduled Cook Strait sailing will depart Picton at 11am on the same day. Aratere has been plagued by problems in recent years. Among those, this year a propulsion fault meant the ferry had to wait at anchor for hours in Queen Charlotte Sound overnight while a specialist electrician came to fix the problem, while last year the ferry ran aground in Piction and was unable to be refloated until the following morning. The ship, which first entered service on the Cook Strait in 1999, is being retired ahead of port infrastructure work being done in preparation for the new rail-enabled ferries set to arrive in 2029. Arartere 's wharf in Picton is due to be demolished later this year as part of the new ferry project and as it requires specific loading and unloading infrastructure, it cannot use the other Interislander wharf in Picton while port upgrades there and in Wellington. Interislander executive general manager Duncan Roy said the ferry's retirement was a significant milestone in the company's transition to a modernised fleet. "This is the start of our preparation for the new ships, and while it will have some impact on capacity on Cook Strait until they arrive, we will make it as smooth as possible for our passengers and freight customers. No booking changes are required for freight customers or passengers as a new two-ship timetable is already in place. "The capacity of the two new ferries will be larger than our current fleet of three ships, so while this change is challenging, it's a necessary step towards a more efficient and sustainable future," he said. To support rail freight operations, Interislander would use road-bridging, where rail freight was moved by trailer onto its vessels, and reconnected to trains at the other end. "Significant preparation has already gone into super-charging this operation - including bringing in new equipment, recruiting and training new staff and fine-tuning our rail freight handling processes," Roy said. "Our transition timetable optimises the additional time needed for road bridging to ensure all rail freight will be serviced at the levels our rail freight customers need and expect. This has already been factored into current bookings," he said. Roy said the business was still considering options for the sale of Aratere after retirement, and the vessel would be laid up at its Wellington berth while it worked with a shipbroker. A private farewell event for Aratere crew would be held early next month.
Scoop
6 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
Aratere's Final Sailing Confirmed
Interislander ferry Kaiārahi is expected to return to service at 3.30pm on Monday 18 August 2025 following scheduled dry-dock maintenance in Singapore. Freshly painted and with its hull cleaned, and a comprehensive maintenance schedule achieved, the ship is running well and currently making good progress towards Wellington. Its return will mean Aratere can be retired and Interislander anticipates Aratere's final scheduled Cook Strait sailing will depart Picton at 11am on 18 August 2025. Aratere's retirement is to allow essential port infrastructure work to begin in preparation for the brand-new rail-enabled ferries arriving in 2029. Aratere's wharf in Picton is due to be demolished later this year as part of the new ferry project. Aratere's design requires specialised wharf infrastructure to load and unload, including integrated rail tracks, so it cannot use Interislander's other berths. Interislander Executive General Manager Duncan Roy says the ferry's retirement is a significant milestone in the company's transition to a modernised fleet. 'This is the start of our preparation for the new ships, and while it will have some impact on capacity on Cook Strait until they arrive, we will make it as smooth as possible for our passengers and freight customers. No booking changes are required for freight customers or passengers as a new two-ship timetable is already in place. 'The capacity of the two new ferries will be larger than our current fleet of three ships, so while this change is challenging, it's a necessary step towards a more efficient and sustainable future,' says Mr Roy. 'As always, we encourage customers planning to travel during the peak summer season to book early and be flexible with their travel times.' To support rail freight operations, Interislander will use road-bridging, where rail freight is moved by trailer onto our vessels, and reconnected to trains at the other end. 'Significant preparation has already gone into super-charging this operation – including bringing in new equipment, recruiting and training new staff and fine-tuning our rail freight handling processes. 'Our transition timetable optimises the additional time needed for road bridging to ensure all rail freight will be serviced at the levels our rail freight customers need and expect. This has already been factored into current bookings. 'We are still considering options for the sale of Aratere after retirement, and the vessel will be laid up at its Wellington berth while we work with a shipbroker.' A private farewell event for Aratere crew will be held early next month.
Time of India
12-06-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
Passengers stranded for hours as aging Aratere ferry stalls in Cook Strait during midnight crossing
Effects of delay Live Events Retiring in August (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel What was meant to be a routine overnight crossing on the Aratere ferry turned into an hours-long ordeal for passengers when the ship experienced an electrical fault midway between Picton to ferry departed Picton at around 8:50 pm on Wednesday(June 11). Those aboard, seven commercial truck drivers and four foot passengers, were startled minutes later when the vessel 'experienced an unexpected issue with its propulsion drive.'The ferry anchored in Cook Strait , and passengers were told to expect a wait. Only at around 1 am was the fault resolved, and the Aratere resumed on a revised schedule, now expected to arrive at 5 some, the wait was long and nerve-racking. One driver, who asked not to be named, described the hours of uncertainty: 'It was eerie. Just four of us on deck, the engines silent, darkness all around.' Interislander crews maintained calm, offering updates and docked in Wellington early Thursday, KiwiRail confirmed the effects: the 6:15 am Wellington–Picton sailing and the 11 am Picton–Wellington return were both cancelled to allow for deeper investigation and ensure safety.A company spokesperson said all affected travelers have been re‑booked or offered refunds, and that there will be no extra charges for Executive GM Duncan Roy, speaking the next morning, clarified that although the propulsion automated reset failed, the vessel retained at least half power and posed no immediate danger. Still, he emphasized that any ongoing disruptions would be met with customer care and follow-up incident follows a previous breakdown in April involving a hydraulic pump and underscores a pattern of technical troubles aboard the Aratere, introduced in 1999 and expanded in 2011 to handle 650 passengers, 230 cars, and 28 rail wagons, is Interislander's only rail‑enabled has had its share of issues over the years, including a grounding in June 2024 when its autopilot failed and the crew couldn't override its unreliable record, KiwiRail has already announced plans to retire the vessel by August 30, making way for port redevelopment in Picton ahead of new rail‑enabled ferries expected in 2029.
