Bluebridge Cook Strait ferry cancels weekend sailings as staff scramble to fix ramp’s mechanical issue

Bluebridge has cancelled six ferry sailings this weekend as staff work to fix a mechanical issue on a ship ramp, leaving holidaymakers stranded on both sides of Cook Strait.

Yesterday, 200 passengers were stranded on board the ferry Connemara in Wellington Harbour for almost 14 hours due to a problem with the vessel’s ramp.

Bluebridge confirmed the Connemara ferry’s 8.30pm sailing from Wellington to Picton was forced to return about 40 minutes into its journey after an issue with the ship’s ramp was found.

One passenger on board told the Herald it was a “pretty stressful” ordeal.

This morning, Bluebridge confirmed that “so far” six sailings had been cancelled this weekend.

StraitNZ spokesmann Will Dady said the company was “extremely disappointed to have experienced a mechanical issue during peak travel period” and assured work was ongoing to return to full schedule again “as quickly as possible”.

“The team is working around the clock to resolve the issue with the ramp,” said Dady.

“We apologise unreservedly to everyone affected, and we want our customers to know we are doing everything we can to get them across the strait as soon as possible.”

Cranes were called in to fix the Bluebridge Connemara's stuck ramp, which left passengers stuck on board for nearly 14 hours. Photo / Tobias Macintosh

Passengers affected by the latest cancellations told the Herald they had thrown their summer holiday plans into disarray.

A woman who was meant to sail on Sunday said the next available trip was January 25.

“This trip has been over six months in planning. We bought tickets to [musician] David Byrne for the family for Christmas,” she explained.

“My daughter is in Auckland, and my two sons are flying from Nelson.

“We decided to take the ferry and make a trip of it ... We planned to stay with two friends on our return drive.

“This has come on the back of my husband having cancer treatment last year and eight weeks of waiting for my stepfather to die.

“We arrived home on Thursday after his funeral saying how much we needed this trip away.”

Bluebridge's Cook Strait ferry Connemara carries up to 500 passengers and has dog-friendly cabins for overnight sailings.

The woman said she had already dropped her four animals off at kennels when the sailing was cancelled.

“Our only option now is to fly at twice the ferry cost, hire a car and pay for extra accommodation,” she said.

“Our whole trip will have to be shortened and cost so much more.

“It’s the little details in our trip that we were looking forward to.

“The economic impact of this is far-reaching.”

Another passenger was facing having to cancel a family trip.

“We were supposed to be going camping for two weeks in Totaranui,” he said.

“But as far as I can tell, there aren’t any more car spots on either Bluebridge or the Interislander in that time.”

The Bluebridge Cook Strait ferry Connemara loading vehicles at its terminal on Waterloo Quay, Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The man was supposed to sail on Sunday and received a cancellation email just after 9pm on Friday.

“Due to a technical issue onboard your 8.15am sailing has been cancelled,” it stated.

“We’re really sorry that we’ve had to cancel this sailing, and we understand that this will be disruptive to your travel plans, so we’re letting you know as early as possible.

"The quickest and easiest way to reschedule your sailing is online."

The email also offered a full refund and included a link for passengers to complete a form.

“We’ll do our best to give you the refund within ten working days,” it said.

“Thank you for your understanding, and we apologise again for the disruption to your travel plans.”