Ramp falls off Ōpua car ferry in mid-channel

The lost car ferry ramp was recovered near Ōpua on Sunday using a barge, a tugboat, a crane and a team of divers. Photo / Supplied

A ramp which fell off a Bay of Islands car ferry two weeks ago has been recovered from the seabed near Ōpua.

Northland harbourmaster Jim Lyle said the ramp fell off the ferry Arawhiti as it was making its first run of the day between Ōkiato and Ōpua. There were no passengers on board at the time.

The large steel ramp, which is lowered to allow vehicles on and off the ferry, sank in a deep part of the channel where it was embedded in mud.

It was fortunate that it occurred in deep water so the ramp was not a navigation hazard.

However, the ferry operator, Fullers GreatSights Bay of Islands, was unlucky in that there was no barge available in the Bay of Islands to retrieve it, until the weekend.

A barge was usually stationed at Ōpua but it was in Auckland for work related to the coming America's Cup.

As a result another barge had to come up from Auckland, a journey that was delayed by bad weather.

Sunday's conditions finally allowed a recovery operation involving the barge, a tugboat, a crane and a team of divers.

The Northland Regional Council issued a navigation warning on Sunday and kept the area clear of boats taking part in a club race.

Sam Peate of Auckland-based Entrada Travel Group, the parent company of Fullers GreatSights, said the ramp detached from the ferry on July 26 during a pre-service run and no passengers or vehicles were on board.

''Fullers GreatSights takes this incident very seriously and a full investigation is currently underway so that we can ensure that an event such as this does not reoccur. The vessel is currently in Whangārei undergoing repair and will be back into operation shortly,'' he said.

Fullers GreatSights normally has two ferries operating on the Ōpua-Ōkiato crossing so an old car ferry was brought back into action while Arawhiti was tied up at the wharf for two weeks.

The Maritime Safety Authority has been notified.