Transport Minister Michael Wood is asked if is acceptable that Cook Strait passengers are left stranded for days because of the unreliable ferries. Video / Mark Mitchell
Passengers are stuck on both sides of Cook Strait, sleeping in their cars and on the floor of the ferry terminal after a “total balls-up” of sailing schedules.
Bluebridge’s Strait Feronia has been cancelled again after an engineering issue yesterday.
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 sailed without passengers to Wellington on Monday.
The passengers who were planning to sail with their vehicles have been told the only option is a full refund, as the ships are too booked to rebook more vehicles.
For Waikato man Rob and his wife, it means more company in their queue for the ferry. The couple were supposed to sail from Picton to Wellington on April 1, but bad weather meant their passage was cancelled.
They were rebooked for the 16th – but with nowhere to go, the couple are now camped out at a service station and checking the terminal three times a day to see if a standby sailing has become available.
Rob told the Herald the situation was “a total balls-up”.
“We were told to go on standby, so every day we go to the line at 6am, 11am and 5pm to check and see if anyone has failed to show up. One guy got so frustrated he kicked down the door at the terminal, and tempers are definitely rising a little bit.”
He said he and his wife were among the lucky ones – they have a caravan they can live in. Others are sleeping on the floor of the terminal, or crammed into their cars.
Rob’s wife said she felt terrible for young families and tourists who have had to book accommodation while they wait.
“For some people, it will be costing them money and it will be money they haven’t planned on spending.”
She said, although the pair were booked to sail on the 16th, she had her doubts.
“I don’t have faith. I’ll believe it when I’m on the boat.”
The sailing of Bluebridge's Strait Feronia from Picton was cancelled on Monday after an engineering problem. Photo / File
Transport Minister Michael Wood said the situation was a real concern.
“Obviously, Bluebridge are a private company who operate this service. It is an important service, the Government has a role to engage with these companies, but ultimately they’re the ones who run the service and we haven’t got an ability to directly control what they’re doing.”
On the other side of Cook Strait, in Wellington, an Invercargill man who had travelled to buy a ute in the North Island said he was now stuck in the capital for at least two weeks.
The man, who did not want to be named, told NZME he arrived at the terminal about 9.30pm yesterday to find about 100 others also waiting.
Queues of vehicles at the Bluebridge terminal in Wellington. Photo / Supplied
He was supposed to sail on the Strait Feronia to Picton but, with the latest cancellation, he’s now looking at a delay of several weeks.
“Are we a third-world country? Are we trying to book a train in India or what?”
He said his business would suffer as a result.
“I work for myself, I can’t do any invoicing ... you spend $50,000 on a car and then you have it stuck in the North Island for two weeks and you have to come back to get it ... Are they going to cover the flights? Probably not.
“They should be offering rather than standing there acting like nothing is a problem. They should be coming out and telling people, rather than [us] having to ask for updates.”
He said Bluebridge had not offered any food or water to those waiting in the queue – except for a container of small cookies on the help desk.
StraitNZ Bluebridge spokesman Will Dady confirmed all four Feronia sailings had been cancelled, and further cancellations were possible.
“We are hugely disappointed for our customers and apologise unreservedly for the disruption to their plans.”
Dady said passengers on cancelled sailings were being offered a full refund and the company would work with those affected on a case-by-case basis regarding additional costs incurred.
Passengers booked on cancelled sailings are asked not to travel to Bluebridge ferry terminals due to the potential impact of increased traffic on other scheduled sailings.
