Interislander

An investigation into a power outage on Interislander’s Kaitaki ferry on 28 January 2023 has found that KiwiRail did not correctly follow its own equipment replacement processes.

The Kaitaki ferry will be back in full service tomorrow, Wednesday 12 April, after being out of service since 4 March due to a gearbox issue. 

The Commerce Commission is launching an investigation into Interislander and StraitNZ, the owner of Bluebridge, about the ongoing ferry delays and cancellations.

KiwiRail’s Interislander says almost all passengers with bookings during Easter will be able cross the Cook Strait.

The Interislander ferry Kaitaki will resume passenger services tomorrow following the go-ahead from independent assessors and Maritime New Zealand.

A redesign of the Interislander website aims to improve the customer experience for ferry passengers.

Interislander is putting on additional sailings of Aratere and Valentine to help meet increased demand for ferries across the Cook Strait.

A fault in an engine cooling system has been identified as the issue that caused KiwiRail’s Kaitaki ferry to lose power and drift across the Cook Strait on Saturday.

Interislander facilities will also be able to accommodate two new larger ferries, with diesel and electric hybrid capabilities.

Interislander has reportedly paid €5.2m (NZ$8.6m) for the purchase of the Valentine freighter ferry to ensure capacity for customers as it prepares for the pre-Christmas demand.

The Interislander’s Kaiarahi ferry is back on the water for sea trials after a major gearbox failure took it out of service in August 2021.

The Interislander is celebrating its 60th anniversary this week and marking more than 43 million passenger trips since its first sailing from Wellington to Picton on 13 August 1962.

Covid-19 among crew forced ferry services to be cancelled.

Interislander is putting on extra sailings of the Aratere today to provide extra space after the government extended the period for people to return to their main place of residence by 24 hours.

Interislander passenger numbers for December and January were about 20% down on the same period the previous year, says KiwiRail.