Ferry pulled out of service again

The beleaguered Interislander ferry Aratere was pulled out of service again yesterday, following a "minor" mechanical fault.

Two sailings were cancelled after the ship arrived in Wellington 10 minutes late after problems, understood to be caused by a short circuit.

The Aratere's owner Toll Shipping said removing it from service was an "extra-cautionary move".

Passengers on the 2pm sailing from Wellington and the return sailing from Picton were transferred on to the Arahura, spokeswoman Sue Foley said.

"Because of the light loading and the high safety regime we're operating in, we thought we'd take the opportunity to give it a full check because we want everyone to have full confidence."

Despite delays of more than four hours, passengers were understanding, she said.

Maritime Safety Authority spokeswoman Heidi Brook said Toll Shipping had contacted them about the Aratere's removal. "They are doing the right thing (removing it)."

She said there were no plans to investigate further unless the problem turned out to be more serious.

The ship has been the subject of 45 investigations by the authority since arriving new in Wellington six years ago. In February, the authority detained the Aratere in Picton for two days and barred it from carrying passengers for a month after steering failure.

It is due to resume sailing tomorrow at 6am.

- nzpa