Ferry has 'blackout' on way to Picton

Faults disupted Aratere crossings last year. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The Interislander ferry Aratere lost engine power just before entering the Tory Channel last night.

There were 360 passengers on board, but there was never any issue about their safety, said Toll Shipping spokeswoman Sue Foley.

She said one of the ship's four engines was shut down and there was, in marine terms, a blackout.

But it would have been a maximum of 10 seconds before everything kicked back in.

"Purely as a precautionary decision we went around the northern entrance rather than going through the Tory Channel just in case there was another problem and we were in open sea more," she said.

The ship had arrived safely in Picton and Maritime New Zealand had been informed.

The Aratere underwent an overhaul in October last year.

Ms Foley said then the work was necessary and meant taking the ferry out of action for an extended period.

It involved rebuilding the ship's cooling system.

All four engines were overhauled and the electronics checked.

The ferry also had a paint job, she said.

Several Aratere sailings last year were disrupted by mechanical faults, lifeboat problems, an oil leak, and a steering failure that led to the ferry being impounded for a month by the Maritime Safety Authority.

- NZPA