Dire straits continue for ferries

Huge swells in the Cook Strait have seen more ferry crossings cancelled today.

The weather is causing disruption to both the Bluebridge and Interislander services with a raft of sailings stopped from this morning.

And passengers are being told not to come to the terminals while staff battle with enquiries from hundreds of stranded passengers.

The move comes as Marlborough mayor Nadine Taylor and Greater Wellington Regional Council Chair Daran Ponter express concerns over safety in the Strait.

Both have written jointly to the Minister of Transport, Michael Wood, raising their concerns about the lack of support for out of port vessels in Cook Strait.

The letter follows recent ferry breakdowns which have reinforced the issue of both shipping and passenger safety in the vital sea corridor that borders both council areas.

“Despite this level of traffic, and the legendary winds and tidal currents, there is neither the legislative requirement nor any physical resource to provide support for vulnerable or disabled shipping,” says Mayor Taylor.

“Daran Ponter and I believe this is an inadequate situation. Cook Strait is a vital part of New Zealand’s national infrastructure, being effectively the marine section of State Highway 1.

“Just as the government oversees safety on the state highways, we agree that it should support safe shipping in one of our busiest marine corridors.”

The Interislander and Bluebridge ferries carry about one million passengers across Cook Strait each year.

More than 250,000 cruise ship passengers are also visiting each summer with that number increasing.

Other shipping is either passing through the Strait (including large bulk carriers between Australia and South America) or passing by adjacent coastlines.

Mayor Taylor says a meeting with the Minister of Transport would be a welcome opportunity to discuss this matter.

“This is an opportunity for local and central government, ship and port operators to come together and work towards an enduring and sustainable outcome.”

Ferry staff are today warning more cancellations may happen this afternoon as passenger safety is a top priority.

An alert this morning from Bluebridge warned passengers no standby spaces would be available.

“The swells in Cook Strait remain around 5m and we have made the decision to cancel 6:15 am and 8:45 am Aratere and Kaiarahi sailings.

“Safety of our passenger and crew is our key priority.

This means that the 11:00 am and 2:15 pm sailings from Picton are also cancelled.

“Unfortunately, we are fully booked and we are unable to move you to other sailings. You will receive a full refund.

“Please do not come to the terminals. We are not offering standbys. Sailings later in the day are at risk of cancellation. We will advise early in the afternoon as we get updated weather forecasts.”

The Interislander fleet is facing further mechanical issues and all passenger bookings on the Kaitaki are now cancelled through to Saturday 25 March

Interislander says that they are working on repairing the gearbox issue on Kaitaki but it is taking longer than expected.

Ticket sales on their website have been temporarily stopped to ensure space is prioritised for passengers on the cancelled Kaitaki sailings.