By Nick James of RNZ
Bluebridge has announced it will buy a newer ship to replace its 28-year-old Cook Strait ferry.
The company currently sails its Strait Feronia and Connemara ferries through the route between the North and South Islands.
Bluebridge will replace the Strait Feronia, which first launched in 1997, with the Stena Livia, which began sailing in 2008.
The Stena Livia is currently sailing for the company Stena Line between Germany and Latvia.
StraitNZ chief executive Shane McMahon said that as the owner of Bluebridge, the company was delighted to have secured the vessel as part of its continued commitment to upgrade services for customers using the critical Cook Strait.
“We are familiar with the vessel type and know it is well suited to work on Cook Strait. When we set out to find a suitable vessel replacement a few months ago, we wanted to be able to provide more freight and passenger capacity and the Livia delivers both.”
McMahon said the new ship will provide a 10% increase in vehicle capacity and will increase Bluebridge passenger capacity significantly with further alterations.
He said it was scheduled to join its fleet in July after a name change and dry dock work in Europe.
It would replace the Strait Feronia towards the end of the year.
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The crash occurred shortly before midnight.