Chatham Islands farmers relieved as cargo ship finally arrives

Cargo ships to the Chathams have been delayed recently. Photo / Juliette Sivertsen

By RNZ

A Chatham Islands farmer says the return of a long-awaited cargo ship is a light at the end of the tunnel.

The Southern Tiare was meant to visit twice a month, but it was prone to breakdowns and has been undergoing repairs.

It last visited in April.

Since then, farmers have been waiting to move stock off the island and fuel supplies became critically low.

Chatham Islands landowner Alfred Preece said farmers had been stressed trying to feed the stranded stock, so he was delighted the Southern Tiare had finally arrived.

“It’s been a huge relief, not only for us but all the local residents and businesses,” Preece said.

“It’s been a long time and certainly, business has been severely stretched financially.”

He has 600 lambs that he hopes will arrive in Timaru on Monday, and said farmers badly needed to get stock off the island.

“With the shortage of feed, stress levels all round will still be there, but at least there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.”

In a normal year, he said they’d have 50,000 to 60,000 stock, but half of them should have been gone by now.

It was an added stress for farmers to shift stock in the next few months while they maintained their value, he said.

“We’ve got to make sure we try to support everyone.”

He understood the shipping company had been trying to make sure everyone got some stock away.

“I think we’re all crossing our fingers now that it’s back in the water, we hope it has a good run.

“Because it’s an old ship and that’s been its Achilles heel, just maintaining a very old ship.”

But they needed a long-term solution that was both sustainable and affordable into the future, he said.

— RNZ