Engine woes for Aratere a week on

The Aratere ferry has been grounded until it is repaired. Photo / Simon Baker

Engine problems continue to plague the Interislander ferry Aratere a week after passenger sailings were cancelled.

KiwiRail said today that one of the ship's four main engines still required work, while two smaller engines were working fine to generate power but were causing problems when used for propulsion.

The Aratere was able to operate normally on its three main engines, but it needed five or six available for back-up propulsion.

Maritime New Zealand has cleared the ferry for freight sailings but is continuing to withhold clearance for passenger sailings while the engine issues are sorted out.

The woes compounded for KiwiRail yesterday as the Kaitaki was delayed by more than four hours by an electrical fault and the Arahura was delayed by a power cut at the Interislander's Wellington terminal.

KiwiRail apologised to its customers for the disruptions.

Further sea trials of the Aratere will continue this week.

The number of return sailings per day has been cut from three to two, to allow more capacity for engineering staff to move freely around the ship to complete testing and fix issues faster.

Sailings of the Arahura have been shifted to the Aratere's day schedule to minimise freight and passenger disruption.

- APNZ