The Interislander Cook Strait ferries are reaching the end of their working life, and two new ferries are being built to replace them. Video / Mark Mitchell
Dire Strait is an ongoing investigative series looking at the full saga and inside story of our interisland ferries, how they came to be in such a state of disrepair, and how it will all be fixed.
An audit has found nine non-conformity issues at Interislander – two of whichwere initially potentially major – while KiwiRail’s chief executive has admitted to ministers there is an “erosion of trust” among the public, the Herald can reveal.
KiwiRail chief executive Peter Reidy wrote a briefing to ministers regarding the Interislander ferries on March 3, which the Herald has obtained under the Official Information Act (OIA).
Reidy said Interislander’s ageing fleet would spend increasingly more time out of service for maintenance, and future budgets were being updated to reflect this. A ship management office was also being established, which included a reliability engineer.
The Maritime New Zealand audit included an inspection of the Kaitaki after it issued a mayday call with 864 people on board, as well as a review of office processes across the entire fleet.
Reidy said the resulting nine non-conformity findings were “not ideal”.
Some of these problems have since been resolved and others will be addressed as part of a three-month plan agreed with Maritime NZ. Interislander stressed none of the findings put the safety of passengers at risk and ships remained safe to operate while the issues were remedied.
Of the nine findings, two were identified in a draft report as potentially major but were later downgraded. They related in part to the criteria Interislander uses to determine which, of the thousands of pieces of equipment on its ships, are deemed critical for the safe operation of a vessel.
In response to the audit, KiwiRail has made sure inspection and preventive maintenance regimes exist for all critical equipment.
KiwiRail chief executive Peter Reidy penned the briefing to ministers regarding the Interislander ferries in early March. Photo / File
Risk management and escalation processes for addressing overdue inspections have been updated.
“If there are any overdue items, a risk assessment is undertaken to ensure it is safe to operate the ship,” Reidy said.
One subtitle in his briefing to ministers was labelled “uplifting capability to strengthen Interislander lines of defence”.
Reidy said Interislander’s shore-based team was under-resourced, despite it providing a critical second line of defence for the ship-based teams to ensure reliable and safe operation of the fleet.
Work to establish a ship management office was underway, including identifying required roles such as a reliability engineer and maintenance planners.
Interislander said it had sufficient staff to operate safely but noted recruitment and retention were tough, especially in a sector that relies on overseas expertise.
Reidy said the reality of the service disruptions was well known, whether it be due to mechanical faults, Covid-19-related crew shortages or Cyclone Gabrielle.
“While New Zealanders have a strong and positive association with the Interislander, which we value highly, we recognise the disruption has worn thin for customers who have been unable to travel and must find alternative accommodation or travel arrangements.
“The cumulative effect is an erosion of trust in Interislander and KiwiRail among the public.”
Bluebridge ferries have been plagued with mechanical faults and service cancellations too, with one passenger calling the situation a “total balls-up”. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Interislander executive general manager Walter Rushbrook said the ferry operator was continually improving its preventive maintenance and inspection regime, both proactively and in response to the Maritime NZ audit.
“Safety is always our absolute priority. We have competent people, and established processes for ensuring our ships are safe to sail.”
Rushbrook said the increased maintenance would be accommodated by reducing services during Interislander’s quietest periods when passengers can be put on other sailings to avoid disruption.
State-Owned Enterprises Minister Duncan Webb, who released the briefing to the Herald under the OIA, said KiwiRail had kept ministers informed through regular briefings.
Webb had had several recent discussions with the chair and chief executive.
“The ongoing disruption to the Interislander service has been disappointing and I have made clear to KiwiRail my expectation that safety and its customers are front of mind in all its decision-making,” he said.
The reliability of the Interislander service was ultimately an operational matter for the KiwiRail board.
“I am satisfied, through these regular updates, that KiwiRail is addressing the issues identified and keeping ministers appropriately informed.”
Maritime NZ cleared the Kaitaki to sail again after the mayday incident. It resumed passenger sailings on March 4, but the ship broke down later that day due to an unrelated gearbox issue. It remains out of service.
Two new mega-ferries are being built to replace the increasingly unreliable Interislander fleet. They are due to arrive in 2025 and 2026.
