The Interislander Cook Strait ferries are reaching the end of their working life, and two new ferries are being built to replace them. Video / Mark Mitchell
Bluebridge’s new Cook Strait ferry is undergoing repairs for the third time after joining the fleet less than two months ago.
A statement on the company’s website said Connemara had experienced an engineering problem and was being repaired in Wellington.
This is after the ferry first got into trouble last month on the way to Picton and was forced to return and dock in Wellington due to a problem with its engine.
Connemara previously sailed between Ireland, Spain and France for Brittany Ferries before Bluebridge purchased the ship.
Meanwhile, rival operator Interislander has advised its customers that all passenger bookings on Kaitaki are now cancelled until the end of this month because work to repair its gearbox is taking longer than expected.
These problems are the latest in a string of ferry breakdowns across both operators, resulting in cancellations, delays, refunds, backlogs and sailings being rescheduled.
Bluebridge advised that Connemara’s Saturday sailings were cancelled but the ferry was expected to resume its normal schedule with the 8.15am sailing from Wellington tomorrow.
“We understand this is very disruptive to our customers’ travel plans and we are sorry.
“Unfortunately, we have almost no available vehicle space on other sailings over the coming weeks. The only option we will be able to provide affected passengers with a vehicle is a full refund of the ticket.”
The Connemara arrived in Wellington less than two months ago. Photo / Supplied
Bluebridge warned its contact centre was “extremely busy”, so wait times may be long and it could take several days to respond to emails.
“However, we will do our best to respond as soon as possible. Thank you for your understanding, and please respect our staff who are doing the very best they can to assist in this difficult situation.”
Interislander passengers are also navigating more cancellations.
Customers have been told all remaining passenger bookings on Kaitaki sailings have been cancelled through until March 31.
“We are working on repairing the gearbox issue on Kaitaki but it is taking longer than expected.”
The gearbox problem was found less than 24 hours after the ferry began passenger sailings for the first time in five weeks.
It had been doing freight-only sailings since it lost power and issued a mayday call in Cook Strait with 864 people on board.
Interislander initially advised Kaitaki would be out for at least another two weeks to deal with the gearbox problem and more sailings have gradually been cancelled since.
Affected customers have been urged not to go to terminals for standby places on sailings as these were not being offered. Instead, they should call Interislander’s customer service team to rebook.
“We have halted ticket sales on our website to ensure we prioritise available space for those from the cancelled Kaitaki sailings.”
Interislander’s contact centre has also come under pressure, with recent ferry cancellations and staffing levels have been increased to cope with demand.
Earlier this week, Interislander operations general manager Duncan Roy told the Herald 900 refunds were being processed and for some of these customers, delays in the refund process were creeping up to a month.
“Refunds for payments made with a credit card usually take around three days, but it can be up to two weeks,” he said.
“There has been a delay of up to a month in some refunds being made for payments not made by credit card because these have to be manually processed and because of the larger than normal numbers needing to be processed due to the Kaitaki breakdown.”
