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 investigative series on how our inter-island ferries came to be in such a state of disrepair - and how the situation can be fixed.
A new report reveals there is no emergency towing vessel on standby in New Zealand to help large ships in strife, whileour most powerful tug based in Taranaki would take one day and 16 hours to get to a maritime incident in Auckland.
Maritime New Zealand released the June 2022 report to the Heraldunder the Official Information Act.
The findings were delivered just months before the Interislander’s Kaitaki lost all power in Cook Strait and started drifting towards Wellington’s south coast earlier this year. Thankfully power was able to be restored, narrowly avoiding disaster.
Two tug boats were among the vessels which responded to the Kaitaki’s mayday call but questions have been raised about the physical capability of these tugs to assist the ferry should they have been needed, especially considering the treacherous conditions.
These tugs are designed to help ships inside the harbour rather than the open water and it’s unknown how successful any effort would have been to secure the ferry.
The report confirms this situation is not unique to Cook Strait.
It found there are limited vessels available across the country to promptly prevent the escalation of a maritime incident in all but the most benign conditions. This is mainly because harbour tugs are not designed for emergency towage tasks.
“In most potential groundings, successful intervention by harbour tugs outside of port limits is unlikely, due to either the tug’s limited seakeeping capabilities, or their operational limitations.”
The most powerful tugs in New Zealand are those which support oil and gas operations offshore in Taranaki.
The general downturn in the offshore oil and gas industry here, as well as the decommissioning of the Tui oil field, has reduced demand for these types of vessels, the report said.
Currently, there is just one- the MMA Vision.
The report warned there would be a significant delay in mobilising this vessel because most of the country’s ports and principal shipping routes are located on the east coast.
Questions have been raised about the physical capability of two harbour tug boats to assist an Interislander ferry when it issued a mayday call in Cook Strait. Photo / Mark Mitchell
It’s estimated MMA Vision would take one day and 16 hours to get to an incident in Auckland, one day and three hours to reach Lyttelton, and 17 hours to get to Wellington.
The report stressed these were best-case mobilisation times.
“Assuming the MMA Vision is in port when notified, is not constrained by existing work, has been released by the operator, and does not suffer weather delays en route.”
Transport Minister Michael Wood said the safety of transport networks was his number one priority.
There were limitations to the number of assets which could be on standby for emergency events due to New Zealand’s population and geography, he said.
“However, I am seeking advice from Maritime New Zealand and the Traffic Accident Investigation Commission on whether there is a need for additional resources for some of our more dangerous and frequently used bodies of water.”
A Maritime New Zealand spokesperson said while there have been past discussions at a government level about emergency towage and salvage, including a budget bid, it had not been prioritised.
This was because of the very low likelihood of such an event happening, the costs involved for a vessel that would be rarely used, and other recent competing priorities like Covid-19, they said.
The 2022 report has been used to inform Ministers of potential options for towage capacity following the maintenance issues with Cook Strait ferries early this year, the spokesperson said.
Discussions are now under way with sector stakeholders to understand where emergency towage capability fits in with a broader response.
“It is analysing considerations as to whether emergency towage vessels have the ability to get to locations in a timely manner, what other tools are available and whether emergency towage vessels will improve the response capabilities around New Zealand’s coastal waterways.”
Wellington regional harbourmaster Grant Nalder hoped the Kaitaki incident would prompt action on addressing the “gap” in the response to serious maritime incidents.
Nalder said he accepted additional emergency towing vessels were an expensive solution.
“I think we’ve got to get past the idea that we need the perfect solution and see if we can find a few different good enough solutions.
“Whatever we do, next time it happens it doesn’t guarantee success. You’re still dealing with a hostile environment with a whole heap of different variables, but it’s about improving the odds.”
