Interislander sought 22 exemptions in three years to sail in breach of maritime rules

KiwiRail has requested more than twice as many exemptions to sail its ferries without complying with maritime rules as its Cook Strait competitor Strait NZ in the past three years, the Herald can reveal.

Maritime NZ can grant an exemption in special circumstances and must be satisfied the safety risk of doing so is not significantly increased.

KiwiRail applied for 22 exemptions for its Interislander ferries, of which 20 were granted. Strait NZ applied for nine exemptions for its Bluebridge ferries, of which eight were granted.

Maritime NZ said the reasons for the exemptions were similar across both companies and related to the design of stairways and sprinkler systems, maintenance requirements, life-saving appliances and fire extinguishers.

The Interislander Cook Strait ferry Kaiarahi passes the outgoing Bluebridge ferry Strait Feronia in Wellington Harbour. Photo / Mark Mitchell

One exemption was declined because it would have breached New Zealand’s obligations under the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea. Another exemption was no longer needed.

The Maritime NZ data released to the Herald under the Official Information Act also showed three prosecutions against KiwiRail and none against Strait NZ.

KiwiRail notified the maritime watchdog of 72 non-compliance events and Strait NZ reported 30. These included small injuries and medical events or short-term equipment faults which could be managed and repaired immediately.

Maritime NZ investigated a similar proportion of these notifications from both companies. More serious incidents warrant further investigation, like when the Aratere ran aground.

Interislander executive general manager Duncan Roy says KiwiRail maintains a policy of transparency with Maritime NZ. Photo / Tim Cuff

Deficiencies and non-conformities were found in 16 inspections and audits of KiwiRail ships compared with eight for Strait NZ. However, the total number of issues found during these checks was the same for both operators - 57 each.

Interislander executive general manager Duncan Roy said the number of Maritime NZ inspections related to the make-up of the larger Interislander fleet, in which four vessels were running during the reported timeframe.

“In addition, all of our ships are registered in New Zealand, which means they fall under Maritime New Zealand’s oversight. Only one of Bluebridge’s ships is NZ-registered.

“We also underwent additional audits due to bringing in a new ship, Valentine, which had to go through a rigorous certification process.”

The Aratere ferry ran aground in June this year, near Picton. Photo / Tim Cuff

KiwiRail maintained a policy of transparency with Maritime NZ and was proactive with reporting, Roy said.

“The safe and reliable operation of the Interislander service is a non-negotiable requirement for the KiwiRail board and management team.”

Roy said KiwiRail has invested more in maintenance and is seeing the benefits of a new asset management regime. Kaitaki has been in drydock for pre-planned deep maintenance and Aratere had a replacement gearbox part installed over the weekend following proactive inspections under the enhanced regime, he said.

KiwiRail usually only has three ferries in its fleet, but it leased and bought Valentine between November 2021 and September 2023 to help move freight after Kaiarahi suffered a gearbox failure.

The damage was so “catastrophic” that Kaiarahi was out of service for more than a year.

StraitNZ usually has two ferries in its fleet but was operating three ships during the reported timeframe when Connemara arrived in early 2023 before Straitsman was sold later that year.

A Strait NZ spokeswoman confirmed Connemara was registered in the Bahamas but said the ferry still fell under Maritime New Zealand’s oversight.

It was common practice for ships to be foreign-flagged at various times, she said.

Strait NZ did not wish to comment further.

Maritime NZ filed one charge against KiwiRail early this year after Kaitaki lost power in the Cook Strait and started drifting towards Wellington’s rocky south coast with more than 800 people on board.

It also laid charges after a ferry worker was crushed between two rail wagons on April 9, 2021. KiwiRail was fined $350,000 and ordered to pay the man, who has name suppression, $30,000 in emotional harm reparation.

Maritime NZ and the Transport Accident Investigation Commission are still completing investigations into the Aratere grounding incident.

KiwiRail has been under intense scrutiny in recent months after its plan to replace its ageing ferry fleet with two mega ferries was left dead in the water. The Government refused to fund a cost blowout of $1.47 billion for the portside infrastructure needed to support the larger ships.

The Government has yet to announce a new plan.

Georgina Campbell is a Wellington-based reporter who has a particular interest in local government, transport, and seismic issues. She joined the Herald in 2019 after working as a broadcast journalist.