Wait continues for troubled Aratere

It will be at least another day or two before trouble-plagued ferry Aratere can take passengers across the Cook Strait, with the Maritime Safety Authority (MSA) not yet ready to give operators Toll Shipping the go ahead.

The MSA banned the Aratere from carrying passengers in February after a steering failure as it entered Wellington harbour with 190 passengers.

Toll had said they hoped to get the all-clear today but MSA spokeswoman Heidi Brook today told NZPA a decision would probably be made in the next day or two.

The Aratere has been investigated 43 times since it began sailing Cook Strait six years ago.

- NZPA