Cook Strait ferry 'danger to other boaties'

Marlborough Sounds environmentalist Peter Beech has challenged the decision to let the Cook Strait ferry the Aratere sail again when officials cannot declare it completely safe.

The troubled ship has resumed freight sailings across the lucrative Cook Strait route, but has been barred from taking passengers because of recurring and often unexplained safety worries.

While Aratere's operator, Toll Shipping, continues to insist the ship is safe, Mr Beech last night asked what value was being placed on the lives of commercial and recreational users of the sounds.

A spokesman for the Guardians of the Sounds, and a charter boat operator, Mr Beech said if something malfunctioned with the steering of the Aratere inside the sounds it could take the ship some distance to stop, perhaps one kilometre, and be dangerous for other boaties.

"How the hell am I going to get out of its way, and what about all the passengers on my boat?" he told the Weekend Herald.

"They have placed a value on the life of the passengers. What about the crew and what about us?"

The Maritime Safety Authority detained the Aratere at Picton on Thursday after a rudder failed in Wellington harbour the day before.

The authority advised Toll Shipping not to sail back to Picton, but the company did, deciding the vessel was safe.

After a tense standoff the authority later cleared the Aratere to resume cargo-only sailings, but is now insisting that some long-term solution be found to ensure the ship's reliability.

Until risk assessments are completed, passengers will not be allowed back on board, and that could take months.

The hexes

* The $118 million vessel broke down on her delivery voyage from Spain.

* Plagued by technical faults during six years of Cook Strait service.

* The ship is the subject of three separate investigations.