Easter holidaymakers will be hoping there are no further Cook Strait ferry cancellations after companies’ engineering woes caused more disruption this week.
For the third day running, Bluebridge’s Strait Feronia ferry was out of action with engineering troubles - leaving passengers with refunds, but no way to rebook.
The Strait Feronia was back in action on Thursday though the usual 2am sailing from Wellington was scheduled to depart at 6am.
The company said it had fixed an engineering problem but gave no details of the fault.
It apologised to passengers for the disruptions and offered fare refunds because there was no room to book on other sailings.
Meanwhile, the Interislander’s Kaitaki sailings had also been canned for more than a month while it fixed a dodgy gearbox - and that ship would not sail until at least next Wednesday.
At the Wellington Bluebridge terminal on Wednesday, a group of 25 German tourists zipping their way down the country on a motorbike tour hit an unplanned stop sign last night.
Emma Mockenhaupt said they were meant to get on the ferry at 2am and wake up in the South Island. Instead, they managed to get a booking on the Interislander in the afternoon.
“Yeah, really annoying, because yesterday evening we didn’t know what we should do.
“It was all chaos.”
As well as the Strait Feronia’s cancellation, Wednesday morning’s sailing of Bluebridge’s other ship Connemara was delayed about five hours.
Passenger Perry O’Carroll said he was used to it.
“About a month ago, we went across and the same thing happened, it was a three-hour delay, so it’s all part of the business I suppose.”
On the other side of the Strait, many Picton accommodation providers were full as people scrambled to make alternative plans.
Aldan Lodge Motel supervisor Melissa Huntley said tensions were rising.
“It has been hectic, like we’re fully booked, and then we get abused.
“It’s not our fault, we’re trying to do the best we can, but we’re just getting sick of it because it’s just constant, every day there’s just something.”
Piwaka Lodge and Backpackers owner Nicci Fitzgerald said the town was packed.
“We sort of work on the ethos that we never turn anyone away, so we’ve had people on couches and store rooms and all sorts of things.
“The big thing we’ve found is just the lack of communication, you know a lot of people sort of being told different things and being told at the very last minute.”
In a statement, Bluebridge spokesman Will Dady said he was disappointed, and apologised to passengers for disrupting their plans.
“We’re doing everything we can to get this issue resolved as quickly as possible but unfortunately further cancellations are possible.”
Dady said those on cancelled sailings would be refunded, but there was no room to rebook.
He said the company would deal with those who had incurred additional costs on a case by case basis.
Consumer New Zealand chief executive Jon Duffy wanted people to know they were entitled to more than just a refund or rebooking under the Consumer Guarantees Act.
He said the total cost to passengers for the ongoing cancellations could run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“If a sailing is cancelled and it’s within the control of the ferry operator, and then you’re forced to spend money on accommodation or getting an alternative way across the Strait, you can claim those costs back from the ferry operators.”
Consumer alleged the ferry companies had been misleading about those rights - so at the end of February it laid a complaint with the Commerce Commission.
Duffy said he had not heard whether the complaint would be investigated.
Transport Minister Michael Wood continued to blame the previous government for not investing in new vessels sooner.
Labour shelled out for two, in its first term - but they were being built in South Korea, and the first was not due here until 2025.
Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau said construction took time, but she would put pressure on the government.
“I support the organisations for the work they’re currently doing, but I will continue lobbying central government to see if we can get more assistance for that.
“It’s an incredibly crucial project for our city.”
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