The eight passengers and some of the crew on the stricken Interislander ferry Aratere are disembarking the ship after 13 hours onboard.
Authorities are considering trying to refloat the boat after abandoning a morning attempt and sending down divers instead to gather more information about how badly the vessel has run aground.
The ferry suffered a steering failure and hit the South Island coastline near Picton just after 10pm yesterday.
Forty-seven people, eight commercial truck drivers and 39 crew, spent the night on the grounded ferry, and by 10am today had been onboard for nearly 13 hours.
Interislander’s executive general manager Duncan Roy said in a statement at 10.49am the eight passengers and 12 of the crew were disembarking the ship and were on their way to Picton.
Picton’s deputy harbour master, two pilots and the port’s manager were among experts to have boarded the vessel overnight as authorities consider how to tow it back to the town’s port.
Ship tracking sites showed Picton tugboats Maungatea and Monowai lined up behind the Aratere’s stern earlier this morning, while other support vessels are also in place onsite.
The Transport Accident Investigation Commission has confirmed it will be investigating the incident, while KiwiRail bosses are flying from Auckland to Picton to help with the recovery operation.
Roy said the next attempt to refloat the ferry could be at 9pm or 10pm today.
The Interislander ferry Aratere ran aground outside of Picton after 10pm on Friday.
Marlborough District Council mayor Nadine Taylor is among those to have sat in on a morning briefing on the situation. Initial plans had been to try to refloat the ferry on 9am’s high tide.
But after consideration, authorities said they needed more information, Taylor said.
“They want to put divers in the water and have a good look at her hull in the daylight,” she said.
“They want to observe the vessel Aratere as she goes through this full tide just to see what level of buoyancy she has got.”
The divers would also be investigating the seabed below the ferry.
“They want to understand exactly where the hull is touching the seabed and get an understanding of the underlying ground that she’s sitting on,” Taylor said.
The next high tide would be at about 9pm-10pm. Authorities are unsure if they’ll attempt the refloating then and may instead wait for daylight hours the following day.
Support vessels attach lines to the stricken Interislander ferry Aratere.
Taylor said the ferry’s passengers and crew are “safe and secure” but options are now being considered how to get them off the ship.
Harbourmaster Jake Oliver said more time was needed to understand the “grounding pressure of the boat” and to learn about the ferry’s design. Divers and naval architects would be involved in making the assessments.
“The crew and eight passengers are safe on board and there are no evident environmental risks while the vessel is grounded. However, oil spill booms are being made ready to be deployed as a precautionary measure,” he said.
Divers had previously only been able to examine the ferry’s hull in the dark overnight.
Oliver believed his team had enough boats and equipment for the mission, but Wellington’s tugs are also on standby, Taylor said.
Authorities ultimately hope the high tides lift the ferry high enough so it can be towed clear.
“They’re hoping that she will get some lift through the tide and the tugs will be able to just move her away,” Taylor said this morning, when authorities had still been aiming for a 9am refloat.
“The risk, of course, is if she doesn’t get enough water under her, then the risk is that they will be dragging her away across the ground, and that would be a different consideration, so they may not want to do that.”
The ferry had departed Picton at 9.45pm yesterday before suffering a steering failure and running aground just after 10pm.
Authorities hope they may be able to refloat the grounded Aratere at high tide tonight. Photo / Renee Horncastle
Last night, emergency services rushed to the stricken vessel with passengers told to wear lifejackets.
Port Marlborough chief executive Rhys Welbourn said his team sent out two tugs yesterday that remained on standby next to the ferry all night.
A 500m exclusion zone had now been set up around the vessel. However, other ferries had been able to enter and exit Picton port on a case-by-case basis, Welbourn said.
While the tugboats would remain in place beside the ferry, the crews would be switched in and out, he said.
Nelson MP Rachel Boyack said she was with a member of the Maritime Union, who was in close contact with the ferry’s crew.
They and the passengers had access to adequate food and had been able get some sleep and were fine, she said.
Taic’s chief investigator of accidents Naveen Kozhuppakalam said a team of investigators would be on site later today.
“We’re gathering all the usual evidence and data for the start of this sort of investigation – including bridge voice and voyage data recordings and any video footage,” he said.
“Our investigators will be inspecting the ship, seeking and recovering electronic records and interviewing vessel crew, port authorities, and witnesses.”
“Getting the facts straight is vital, so we’re keen to hear from passengers on board – especially those who have relevant video footage.”
‘Shocking’ - union
The Maritime Union said images of the ferry were “a shocking conclusion to years of warnings” about the ageing ferry fleet.
National secretary Carl Findlay said a number of union members were among the crew.
Officials and delegates had been in communication with crew members and there were no injuries.
”The ferry crews are experienced professionals and will be doing their jobs even in these extraordinary conditions, but of course we are concerned they have been placed in danger.”
Findlay said it would be a difficult and complex operation refloating the vessel and it was unclear when this would now happen. The union was to be briefed by Interislander management later today.
He said if the steering had failed during bad weather, or when the ship was in the Cook Strait, the outcome could have been disastrous.
”The Interislander ferries are at end of life, and there have been repeated incidents, such as the loss of power on the Kaitaki last year.”
New Zealand has to have modern, fit-for-purpose Cook Strait ferries. Findlay said the Government had made an error cancelling the iRex project, which not only threatened the transport network but the safety and wellbeing of crew and passengers.
”If this incident does not shake the Government out of its complacency about the need for investment in new vessels and infrastructure, what will it take?”
Findlay said the implications of the Aratere being out of action are serious for the transport network, as it is the only rail-capable ferry on the Cook Strait.
Other Interislander ferries are out of service or due for dry dock. The Kaiarahi is currently laid up in Picton undergoing maintenance, and the Kaitaki is due to go to Singapore dry dock in late July for scheduled maintenance. The Aratere was laid up last month and underwent maintenance including on its steering systems. Gearbox issues had also disrupted its schedule and it was awaiting parts from overseas.
Change of plans
Interislander’s Roy initially told Newstalk ZB this morning the company would attempt to refloat the ship about 9am.
“We’ve done a preliminary investigation and we’ve spoken to experts in the field, including our naval architects and that there’s a plan afoot for nine o’clock this morning.”
Roy was on his way to Picton from Auckland alongside KiwiRail chief executive Peter Reidy. He’d spoken to crew members.
“They’ve been nothing but focused on the safety and comfort of their passengers.
“I’ve been really impressed with how they’ve performed working through the night.”
Interislander says the safety and comfort of its passengers and crew on the Aratere are its priority. Photo / Renee Horncastle
Roy said they would look at the “formal processes” once the ship was back in Picton.
“We’re taking it very seriously.
“And number one focus is on the safety and comfort of our passengers and crew and then it’s the recovery of the ship and then we’ll look at the next steps after that.”
Roy said last night there had been no injuries and that “the vessel is watertight”.
“The Picton harbour master is on board and we are working with him to move the vessel back to Picton.”
He said he was confident harbour tugs would be able to assist the ferry into port.
It was too early to understand how freight deliveries across the Cook Strait would be impacted, he said.
Coastguard Marlborough volunteers onboard Bluebridge Rescue were also on the scene at Pine Bay last night along with several tug boats.
Transport Minister Simeon Brown posted on X last night: “We have been advised that there is no indication of injuries, danger to life or danger of oil pollution to the marine environment. The vessel is watertight. Both KiwiRail and Maritime NZ are actively dealing with the situation. KiwiRail will provide further updates publicly.”
Passengers spent an unexpected night aboard the Interislander ferry, Aratere after it ran aground.
A man whose father was part of the group of truck drivers on the ferry told the Herald last night that all on board were safe.
“[My father] just said they’re just all on standby and just sitting there ready to go if they need to. He just said everyone’s been told to get up and just be up in one area and wait. That’s all I know at the moment.
“It’s run aground so you’d have to be ready to leave if you needed to, but they don’t know anything further at the moment. It’d be f***ing pitch black out there.”
The Marlborough Harbourmaster’s office said harbour master Jake Oliver was involved in the response to the stranded ferry as of 11pm, and that police and fire teams were also at the scene.
A South Island Fire and Emergency duty manager said they had no direct involvement in the response to the incident at this stage.
”Police are the lead and we’ve offered assistance but nothing has been requested of us at this stage. They’re [police] dealing with it,” the duty manager said.
Transport Minister Simeon Brown said this week the Government has been “highly unimpressed” with KiwiRail’s maintenance of its Interislander ferry fleet.
The future of the ferries was the first question Brown faced at a Transport and Infrastructure Select Committee meeting on Thursday.
Brown said the Government was committed to a resilient Cook Strait service but ministers also wanted to see KiwiRail maintain its existing ships to the appropriate standards.
MarineTraffic is showing the Interislander ferry, Aratere, has stopped.
“Which has been a significant issue that we’ve been highly unimpressed with coming into Government,” he said.
