The Queen Elizabeth berthed in Auckland this morning, as seen from the deck of Fullers' close-brushing ferry from Hobsonville Point. Photo / Chris Keall
The Queen Elizabeth berthed in Auckland this morning, as seen from the deck of Fullers' close-brushing ferry from Hobsonville Point. Photo / Chris Keall
Auckland ferry company Fullers is asking authorities to intervene urgently over delays that it has blamed on cruise ships.
Fullers cancelled three ferries bound for Auckland City on Tuesday morning after it said two docking cruise ships had congested the wharf.
"We have requested an urgent intervention with Auckland authorities and those that oversee the cruise ship activity to find an immediate and long-term solution for everybody," the company told RNZ in a statement.
On Tuesday, two Devonport ferries and one from Waiheke were cancelled - residents say it's part of a string of hold-ups over the past week.
"We've got a pretty frustrated community over on Waiheke at the moment," said Chloe Barker, a local resident.
Fullers said some cruise ships were berthing outside of their schedule, making it hard to plan around, and others arrived during peak commuter periods.
A Harbourmaster vessel (left) tries to wrangle a Fullers ferry into the gap between the Seabourn Encore and Pier 4 around 5pm yesterday. Photo / Chris Keall
Waiheke Local Board chair Cath Handley said problems had compounded over the past year and the cruise ship terminal on Queens Wharf should be shifted to another wharf.
"Cruise ships don't have to berth at the bottom of the main street of the city," she said.
However, Auckland Transport has maintained the cruise ships were not to blame for the disruption on Tuesday. It said the Harbourmaster found the ships' impact on other vessels on Tuesday morning was negligible.
Handley said she hoped the differences between Auckland Transport and Fullers could be worked out today.
Pier-to-pier networking: Hobsonville Point commuters make up lost work time. Photo / Chris Keall
Waiheke's Ferry Users Group secretary Daniel Silva said delays were always going to happen.
"For these few weeks in the summer when we have a lot of cruise ships coming in we can expect some inconvenience."
Commuter and Herald reporter Chris Keall, who on Monday posted a photo of a an AT Harbourmaster vessel struggling to shepherd a Fullers ferry through the gap between the Seabourn Encore and Pier 4, noted that ongoing delays are caused when a cruise ship is docked.
At times, the western side of Pier 4 has had to be closed for one or two days while a cruise ship is in port.
