Dire strait: Latest ferry failure the latest in a decade long-list

The Interislander ferry Kaitaki is currently berthed in Wellington after a steering issue saw it anchor near the city overnight, stranding passengers on board.

It’s the latest in a long line of problems with the Cook Strait crossing ferries, which span more than a decade.

On 24 February 1994, the Aratere lost power in Wellington Harbour and was left to drift. This problem occurred again the very next day, and then again later in February and into March.

In March 1994 the Aratere ran aground in the Tory Channel. It was refloated quickly but this signalled the beginning of decades of problems.

It was smooth sailing for some years after these incidents up until late 2004 when the ship had two failures in the Marlborough Sounds.

The first of these, a propulsion system problem, caused a “nightmare” eight-hour sailing across the Strait through 6 metre swells and 110km/h winds.

In October of the same year the ferry suffered a complete power loss, this time in the Queen Charlotte Sound.

In 2006, five people aboard the Aratere were injured and several rail wagons were knocked over when the ship rolled significantly twice.

There were 381 people on board the ferry as it crossed the Strait in October amid high seas. According to a contemporary Maritime New Zealand report the Aratere “suddenly and without warning” took a wave to its port side and rolled to an angle of 50 degrees.

The wave it was struck by was estimated to be about 14 metres high.

Hours later, another wave struck the ship causing another 50-degree roll. As vehicles under the ship shifted, the ship took on a list of six degrees to starboard.

The ship did manage to berth safely in Picton – but the usually three-hour crossing took seven hours and 39 minutes.

In October of the same year passengers aboard the Kaitaki had a horrendous crossing which left them vomiting and fearing for their lives.

The Kaitaki was slammed by 70-knot winds and waves almost 10m high, but the ship’s master and his crew were cool and professional throughout, a Maritime NZ report found.

“Some families were severely traumatised by the passage and had doubts they would survive,” the report said. “The master acted prudently by taking appropriate actions to ensure the safety of the vessel, passengers and crew. Whilst many of the passengers were sick, some acutely so, there were no serious harm injuries to any of the passengers and crew.”

More recently in January of this year Interislander’s Kaitaki ferry issued a mayday call with 864 people on board.

All four engines had failed and the ship was drifting towards Wellington’s rocky coastline during a strong southerly in Cook Strait.

The Wellington Regional Hospital was put on standby for mass casualties, six vessels were sent to the scene, five helicopters were called, and police were put in charge of an onshore operation to rescue people.

The ferry drifted about one nautical mile before its anchors managed to stabilise it in 30m of water off Sinclair Head.

An announcement was made over the loudspeaker that the anchors were holding and help was on the way.

Just weeks later, a 25-year-old tourist aboard one of the Interislander’s fleet was stabbed by another passenger with a pair of scissors.

The 22-year-old man, who has name suppression, was remanded for a further psychiatric report in the Nelson District Court in June.

The police summary of facts said he then began to “rapidly advance” on the victim from behind with scissors in his hand, and stabbed him in his left side. He swung the scissors twice more, but missed.

In explanation, the man told police he had “wanted to harm the victim with scissors”.

Vita Molyneux is a Wellington-based journalist who covers breaking news and stories from the capital. She has been a journalist since 2018 and joined the Herald in 2021.