The Government announced on December 13 it would not give the state-owned enterprise more money for the new ferries, leaving the planto replace its ageing Cook Strait fleet dead in the water.
In a written parliamentary question, Labour asked Minister for State-Owned Enterprises Paul Goldsmith what work had been completed on the ferries by that point.
KiwiRail advised 87 per cent of drawings for the two ships had been submitted, Goldsmith said.
“For the first ship, the four generator sets (diesel engine and alternators), frequency converter for azimuth thruster system (propulsion) and azimuth thruster mounting seats had been built, tested and accepted,” he said.
“For the second ship, all four alternators were built, tested, and accepted.
“The safety management and control system for both ships had been tested and accepted. The dockyard also blasted and primed some metal for later stages and produced five plates.”
Minister for State-Owned Enterprises Paul Goldsmith said all four alternators were built, tested and accepted for one ship. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The mega ferries were being designed with a hybrid technology using electrical propulsion from generators fuelled by diesel and batteries recharged by electrical shore power.
KiwiRail chief executive Peter Reidy said they were still “considering options” for the mega ferries up until February 8.
“Until the final decision to cancel the contract, the shipyard made its own decisions about production schedules,” he said.
The contract with HMD was signed in 2021. The vast majority of design work and selection and approval of components was completed by December 2023, Reidy said.
Most of the work Goldsmith listed in his response was accepted or about to be accepted when the Government refused further funding, he said.
“A small amount of work planned by HMD and their suppliers, such as the testing and acceptance of the first ship’s frequency converter for the azimuth thruster system and testing and acceptance of the second ship’s alternators, happened in the period between December 13, 2023 and February 8, 2024.”
The work completed during this period would make no material difference to confidential cancellation negotiations, Reidy said.
Labour transport spokesman Tangi Utikere said this revealed a significant amount of work on the ferries had already happened.
“That work will be a cost to the Government if the contract is scrapped. KiwiRail secured the ferries contract at a competitive price three years ago, and costs have gone up since then. So, if any aspect of it is being renegotiated, those rising costs will be put straight back on Government.”
“Chris White’s travel with Peter Reidy to Korea reflects that the Treasury is working to support an appropriate commercial outcome of the negotiations and, with KiwiRail and the Ministerial Advisory Group, to understand and advise ministers on replacement ferry options,” Treasury said in a statement.
Utikere said it was curious the Ministerial Advisory Group was part of a trip focused on terminating the contract when the group is tasked with looking at replacement options.
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.
