Dire Strait: Interislander ferry damaged by large wave, sailings cancelled

Sailings have been cancelled while the damage is assessed and repairs are completed. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Sailings on the Kaitaki Interislander ferry have been cancelled until Wednesday afternoon after a large wave damaged a door onboard.

Interislander operations general manager Duncan Roy said the cancellations have been made as a safety precaution, after the starboard bow door was hit while crossing from Picton to Wellington yesterday afternoon.

“The impact damage did not affect the safety of the ship,” Roy said.

“During pre-departure preparation on Monday night the door could not re-align before closing.”

Kaitaki sailings have been cancelled while the damage is assessed in more detail, Roy said.

“A surveyor is onsite and repairs are under way, under the guidance of our third-party Class authority.”

The Aratere ferry is running an additional return freight-only sailing today and Thursday to help accommodate disrupted customers, who Interislander is contacting directly.

“We apologise for the inconvenience these cancellations may cause however safety is our top priority in these situations,” Roy said.

Canterbury Bulk Freight managing director Alex Cowdell said he had trucks parked up on both sides of Cook Strait.

“Nobody knows anything. The poor old guys in the terminals have no clue when there are going to be sailing.

“We’ve got crews in Christchurch and in the North Island both waiting for trailers to unload... and we don’t have the trailers, so those staff are all stood down currently just waiting.”

Cowdell said the company was affected every time there was a ferry outage.

“It is a recognisable part of our operation dealing with that section of water. When it’s weather-related, we all understand but when it’s mechanical, it does create a major issue because generally those things you don’t see coming.”

Interislander issued an alert on its website this morning warning that weather conditions in the Cook Strait on Tuesday are forecast to deteriorate with moderate swells likely.

“We are monitoring the situation closely and will update this service alert, and advise customers directly, if sailings are impacted during this time,” the alert said.

It comes less than two weeks after passengers on the Kaitaki were forced to spend the night on board after a fault with the steering meant it stayed anchored in the harbour.

The ship had set sail from Wellington to Picton at 8.30pm, but only made it a short distance before the issue with the steering occurred.

The ship master decided not to berth as no tugs were available until 7am the next morning.

An Interislander spokesperson said there were only a small number of passengers aboard the ferry, most of whom were commercial vehicle drivers. Everyone was provided a cabin for the night.

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.