Ferry procurement responsibilities under new company

A new Crown-owned company has been set up to purchase two new Cook Strait ferries, but funding set aside for procurement has not been revealed today.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis and newly appointed Minister for Rail Winston Peters have said at a press conference in Wellington today that two new ferries will be in service by 2029 but would not confirming if future ferries will have roll-on-roll-off rail services.

The new company will be looking into all possible options, with a March deadline set for final decisions.

“We have a proposition that means in March the government has committed funds to procure new ferries that will provide safe and reliable ferry crossings into the future, and we can do that more responsibly, financially, than the last lot”, said Minister Willis.

"We will do the right thing and ensure that over these next couple of months we will absolutely run to ground whether there is an even better option than the case we are presenting."

The ministers have said that tenders for procurement of the two new ferries will be announced in March, with external alternative proposals welcomed alongside the research the new Section 4A company will do in the meantime.

The Section 4A company will “undertake a procurement process for new ferries and report back to Ministers for final decisions. The second will be to support officials to work with ports, KiwiRail and other stakeholders to ensure landside development planning is sufficiently advanced for Cabinet to make final decisions on ferry procurement with confidence”, said Willis.

KiwiRail and Interislander will remain in charge of the current ferries and their maintenance until delivery of the new ferries.

The funding envelope maximum cost has not been revealed, as the Ministers have said that businesses would try and reach that maximum with their price offers if it was publicly available.

"To ensure the best possible solution is arrived at, the private sector is being invited to put forward alternative proposals for a ferry service during the first stage of the ferry process up till March”, said Minister Willis.

“The guiding criteria for us has been that we want ferries that are safe, reliable, economically efficient to run, and that are fully compatible with our rail service”.

Both KiwiRail and the Marlborough District Council were pleased by the announcement of two new ships and are keen to work alongside the new company an see the process of procurement move forward.

“It is pleasing that the Government has chosen to invest in the future of Cook Strait ferry services by deciding to procure two brand new ships, which will safeguard reliability into the future,” KiwiRail Chief Executive Peter Reidy says.

“The specifications that the Government has indicated mean the ships will be larger than the current ships, so there will be room for future growth.

“We note that rail-enabled ships are still an option. However, if the new ships are not rail-enabled, we will be able to continue to efficiently move rail freight across Cook Strait in the same way we do now when our only rail-enabled ship, Aratere, is unavailable”.

Mayor Nadine Taylor said Marlborough District Council had consistently made representation to Government of the need to invest in the safety and reliability of a critical national transport connection for the long term.

“Keeping our interisland connection is vital, not only for commerce but to keep our people connected too.

“Cook Strait is part of State Highway 1 and the Main Trunk Line, linking road and rail networks between the north and south islands, and new efficient vessels are critical to keeping New Zealand’s economy moving”, she said.

“We look forward to working with the new Schedule 4A company, Government, Port Marlborough and NZTA to understand the new port infrastructure and roading requirements and associated costs.

“Council and Port Marlborough can now begin investigative work on portside infrastructure design and costings and commence negotiations again on its commercial viability.”