More disruption for Cook Strait ferries: Bluebridge sailings cancelled

The Bluebridge Cook Strait ferry Straitsman sailing into Wellington Harbour. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The Cook Strait ferry woes have continued, with Bluebridge’s Strait Feronia unable to take passengers after an engineering issue.

The ship had just returned to service after being sent for a routine dry dock in Sydney in February. The engineering issue meant the ship was forced to dock in Picton overnight and will sail without passengers to Wellington this morning.

A service alert from Bluebridge said the morning’s 2am sailing from Wellington and the 7.45am sailing from Picton have been cancelled, as has the 7.15pm sailing from Picton.

“We understand this is very disruptive to our customers’ travel plans and we are sorry,” read the statement.

“Unfortunately, we have almost no available vehicle space on other sailings over the coming weeks. The only option we will be able to provide affected passengers with a vehicle is a full refund of the ticket.”

It’s the latest in a long line of problems for the Cook Strait ferries, with cancellations plaguing the Interislander and Bluebridge.

Last week Bluebridge’s new Cook Strait ferry underwent repairs for the third time after joining the fleet less than two months ago.

A statement on the company’s website said Connemara had experienced an engineering problem and was being repaired in Wellington.

This is after the ferry first got into trouble last month on the way to Picton and was forced to return and dock in Wellington due to a problem with its engine.

Meanwhile, rival operator Interislander has advised its customers that all passenger bookings on Kaitaki are now cancelled until the end of this month because work to repair its gearbox is taking longer than expected.