Correspondence between Transport Minister Simeon Brown’s office, ministry officials, and KiwiRail fromthe days after the grounding has been released to the Herald under the Official Information Act.
It reveals the late-night emails exchanged, the back-up plan if the first refloating attempt was unsuccessful, and how Cook Strait competitor Bluebridge was called in to help.
Brown’s office received the first of what would end up being many reports on the incident from KiwiRail in bullet-point form at 11pm on Friday June 21.
It confirmed there were no injuries, the vessel was watertight, and divers were en route for an initial inspection.
One bullet point – “there is no immediate threat to life” – was underlined.
Media queries had already started rolling in and sailings were cancelled for the next 72 hours, the report said.
At 12.30am that night, KiwiRail said it was planning for the Aratere to be refloated the following morning at about 9am, when it was high tide.
The harbourmaster was in control of the site with a 500m exclusion zone around the Aratere.
Crew and commercial truck drivers would remain on board the ship until it was refloated and moved.
There was no damage to the hull but an oil spill was still considered a possibility while the vessel was refloated. An oil response team from Auckland was sent to Picton to be on standby.
The Interislander ferry Aratere ran aground near Picton just after 10pm on June 21, 2024.
By 6am on Saturday, KiwiRail said the Aratere remained in place and the plan was still to try to move her later that morning.
Brown was returning to Wellington after what had already been a high-pressure 24 hours.
Brown also had another meeting with officials there, including KiwiRail chief executive Peter Reidy, who had also travelled south.
Plans to refloat Aratere delayed
Just before 11am, KiwiRail emailed to say there was a change of plan and the Aratere would now be moved later – at high tide that night.
This was because it would be the highest tide that week, the weather would still be calm, and it allowed for more time to shift weight around the ship to “maximise the prospect of safe refloating”.
Given the later refloating time, crews and commercial truck drivers were removed from the Aratere using lifeboats.
At 4pm, KiwiRail said the Aratere’s ballast had been drained and other weight in the ship had been transferred to lighten the bow.
“The recovery will use two Picton tugs and Aratere’s own engines. We expect to start about an hour before high tide, with side-to-side manoeuvres to loosen its position.
“Ideally, we would also have used the two larger Wellington tugs as well but these are not available until tomorrow morning. We have developed a back-up plan, using the Wellington tugs tomorrow if tonight’s floating is unsuccessful.”
KiwiRail's chief executive Peter Reidy (left) and Interislander executive general manager Duncan Roy speaking to media after the Aratere ferry was refloated. Photo / Tim Cuff
In the same update, KiwiRail said an additional return sailing of the Kaitaki would be running in the evening to accommodate all passengers and freight delayed that day.
“We are now turning our focus to next week’s passengers and freight. Capacity next week is much more constrained and we are approaching Bluebridge for support.”
Ferry freed from the mud
At 7pm, KiwiRail advised the plan to refloat the Aratere would go ahead.
“To ensure the vessel remains stable at anchor, very detailed weight stability calculations were required from Australian maritime experts and we sought agreement from the other agencies.
“Recovery work is expected to begin around 8pm tonight. First, the two Picton tugs will be used to manoeuvre the stern of the ship to break the suction effect of the mud around the bow.”
As full tide approached, the plan was to use more stern thrust from the ferry’s engines and pull from the tugs to free the Aratere.
The Aratere was pulled off the shore at 9.12pm.
A final update on Saturday, emailed at about 10.30pm, said the Aratere was now safely anchored at Picton Harbour.
KiwiRail’s internal investigator was due to board the vessel the following morning and the condition of the hull and key navigational equipment would be reviewed.
A kayaker paddling past the stranded Interislander ferry near the exclusion zone. Photo / Tim Cuff
All going well, the Aratere could berth in Picton and freight unloaded. Maritime New Zealand and the Transport Accident and Investigation Authority would then go on board for their independent investigations.
Reidy and KiwiRail Interislander executive general manager Duncan Roy would hold a media stand-up in Picton at 9.30am on Sunday morning.
“I’d take my own family on those ships right now. We are very disappointed with what has happened over the past 24 hours,” he said.
Experts fly in to assess the steering system
On Monday at about 12.30pm, KiwiRail emailed to say the Aratere had moved to berth at Waimahara Wharf in Picton, which is used by log ships. This would free up the main wharf for the Kaitaki to come and go.
A Maritime New Zealand detention order remained in place meaning Aratere could not leave Picton.
“KiwiRail would like to take Aratere back to Wellington, where there is easier access for crew and technicians. This will only occur with Maritime NZ approval.”
On Tuesday at about 3pm, KiwiRail said it was working to gather data and logs and facilitate interviews for the official investigations under way into the incident.
“No hull breach has been found in any part of the vessel. Following the internal inspection in the forward ballast tank yesterday, indentations to some structure members have been discovered in the bulbous bow (which was grounded).
“We have received expert advice from international ship classification society DNV around the strengthening plan for the impacted structure.”
Technicians from Kongsberg Norway, the steering and control systems manufacturer, were due to fly in on Friday to undertake “root cause analysis and assurance work” on the steering system.
As for capacity across Interislander’s fleet, all passengers who were booked on the Aratere had been shifted to Kaitaki sailings until Friday.
“We are still working through rebooking freight movements this week. Due to capacity constraints, we are working with our freight customers to prioritise freight movements, and the industry response to this has been fantastic. We are using Bluebridge for support,” KiwiRail said.
A backlog of rail freight from the weekend was largely cleared, it said.
“We do have a small amount of rail freight that does not normally travel in multi-modal containers that is still in Wellington and we are working with the impacted customers on alternatives.”
All new passenger and freight bookings were stopped until July 8 until there was clarity on when the Aratere would return to service.
The Aratere returned to service on July 15, starting with freight-only sailings before moving to a full schedule with normal passenger numbers by the end of that month.
It was another lucky escape for the ship, which had sustained damage to its hull this time but well above the water line and there were no injuries or water leaks.
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.
