Interislander Aratere ferry returns to service, fourth KiwiRail director quits, ex-army colonel joins executive

Interislander’s Aratere ferry will resume normal services by the end of this month but it’s far from smooth sailing ahead for KiwiRail’s board after a fourth director quit.

The Aratere successfully returned to service on Monday afternoon in the wake of its grounding in Picton. It’s moving to freight-only sailings before returning to a full schedule with normal passenger numbers on July 28.

This graduated return to service is in line with conditions imposed by Maritime New Zealand.

KiwiRail has been under intense scrutiny in recent months after its plan to replace its ageing ferry fleet with two mega ferries was left dead in the water. The Government refused to fund a cost blowout of $1.47 billion for the portside infrastructure needed to support the larger ships.

Ministry of Transport officials were already considering whether Interislander could be separated into a new state-owned enterprise or sold when the Aratere ran aground.

The Government is yet to announce the new plan to replace the fleet.

Fourth KiwiRail board director quits

Another KiwiRail director has resigned from the board after Finance Minister Nicola Willis warned a “refresh” was coming.

KiwiRail confirmed former Labour MP and Minister Maryan Street’s resignation will take effect on July 31.

Rachel Pinn, a transport consultant, and Ed Sims, the former chief executive of Canadian airline WestJet, have also quit.

KiwiRail chairman David McLean says stepping aside from the start of the new financial year is best for the organisation as it enters a new phase of its development. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Board chairman David McLean is finishing his term early at the end of this month.

The Herald previously revealed Willis told McLean the week before she announced his early retirement that KiwiRail had spent an “excessive and not justifiable” amount on McKinsey consultants.

Treasury has now released a document inviting applications for positions on KiwiRail’s board.

It said shareholders want “drastically improved health and safety outcomes” and a response to reviews into “serious issues” involving Interislander ferries in recent years.

The main task for the board in the short to medium term was to urgently improve the company’s financial performance and reduce the level of dependency on Crown funding, the document said.

Expectations from shareholding ministers included ensuring ferry operations remained safe at all times.

“And KiwiRail executes a maintenance programme that is aligned with best practice and responds to the reviews into serious issues that have arisen in recent years.”

KiwiRail adds Interislander position to executive team

Duncan Roy, the man in charge of Interislander, has been appointed to KiwiRail’s executive team.

Roy joined KiwiRail in March 2023 as Interislander operations general manager and regularly attended executive meetings.

Interislander executive general manager Duncan Roy. Photo / Tim Cuff

KiwiRail chief people and communication officer Andrew Norton confirmed Roy’s job title changed to Interislander executive general manager in May this year.

“His formal addition to the executive of KiwiRail recognises the importance of the role of the Interislander in the organisation.”

KiwiRail’s website has been updated to reflect the change. It said Roy was responsible for the operational leadership of the Interislander ferries, including marine engineering, shipping operations, customer services and shoreside logistics.

“Duncan’s focus is ensuring the delivery of an excellent experience for Interislander’s diverse customer base of domestic and international passengers and freight customers (rail and commercial vehicles)”, the website said.

“Duncan previously held senior positions in the New Zealand Army and wider New Zealand Defence Force.”

KiwiRail declines request for more information on Aratere grounding

The Herald asked KiwiRail for all internal correspondence relating to the Aratere grounding under the Official Information Act.

KiwiRail acknowledged the public interest and speculation about what caused the incident but declined the request citing “maintenance of law”.

“In this instance the information you are requesting forms part of the investigations being undertaken by Maritime NZ and the Transport Accident Investigation Commission.

“Notwithstanding the fact there has been information released into the public domain, to release any further information in an official capacity may prejudice these investigations and accordingly your request is declined.”

The Aratere ran aground near Picton due to a steering failure. Photo / Tim Cuff

A leaked safety bulletin document has revealed that the Aratere ferry was on autopilot when the “execute button” was accidentally pressed, causing the ship to veer off course before running aground near Picton.

The crew noticed something was wrong, and tried to regain control, but couldn’t. About a minute passed before they could change the direction of the propulsion system and it was too late to prevent the ship from grounding.

KiwiRail’s corporate teams affected by proposed restructure

Meanwhile, KiwiRail has met with staff to start consulting on a proposed restructure affecting some of its corporate teams.

Norton said KiwiRail was changing the way it worked. This was “in order to improve efficiency, focus on the needs of customers, and meet the expectations of our shareholders, and ourselves, to grow our business. Our transformation involves many initiatives, developed by KiwiRail”.

KiwiRail would not comment on the number of jobs affected until the consultation process was completed.

Georgina Campbell is a Wellington-based reporter who has a particular interest in local government, transport, and seismic issues. She joined the Herald in 2019 after working as a broadcast journalist.