Farewell to the Aratere

Interislander’s  long-standing Aratere ferry made its final scheduled sailing across Cook Strait, departing Picton at 11am on Monday.

Monday’s sailing marked the end of a 26-year service history for the vessel, which arrived in New Zealand in 1999.

The Aratere’s retirement means that the subsequent work on Picton’s ferry terminal surrounding the now unused rail transfer section announced earlier in 2025 can now begin, with new rail-enabled ferries expected to arrive in 2029.

Aratere’s final sailing has also coincided with the final announcement of the iReX projects final costing, with KiwiRail agreeing to pay Hyundai Mipo Dockyard $144 million to cancel the original two-ferry deal signed in 2021.

Over its lifetime, Aratere completed approximately 53,000 crossings, carrying more than five million passengers from Island to Island.