The Interislander Cook Strait ferries are reaching the end of their working life, and two new ferries are being built to replace them. Video / Mark Mitchell
Maritime New Zealand accused KiwiRail of prioritising commercial outcomes at the expense of safety in the months before the Kaitaki ferry lost power in Cook Strait with 864 people on board, the Herald can reveal.
Now, correspondence released under the Official Information Act also reveals concerns about last-minute requests for exemptions to maritime rules, a reactive approach to maintenance, and an increasing number of safety findings and deficiencies with Interislander vessels.
The concerns were raised by Maritime NZ, WorkSafe NZ and Waka Kotahi in a letter to new KiwiRail chief executive Peter Reidy last August.
“Our observations are that the KiwiRail executive are primarily concerned with operational matters and this organisational posture cascades through KiwiRail setting a culture focused on commercial outcomes, rather than safety,” they said.
“As with any organisation’s culture, the safety concerns we have each identified have been driven by past leadership and unfortunately our regulatory tools alone are insufficient to effect the change required.”
Former KiwiRail chief executive Greg Miller quit in November 2021 saying sustained allegations in the media, while rejected by him, had become such a distraction that he had decided it was in the best interests of him, his family, and the state-owned enterprise to step down.
Media reports had criticised the workplace culture under Miller, who took over as chief executive in May 2019. He was previously the board chairman.
When contacted by the Herald regarding the regulators’ concerns, Miller said safety was the paramount concern in a heavy industry like KiwiRail and ferry operations.
“Commerce never comes before safety in that business, that’s a fact. For anyone to suggest that, they’re wrong.”
“On my watch, safety was the most important aspect of everything we did.”
Former KiwiRail chief executive Greg Miller said commerce never came before safety on his watch. Photo / Alex Burton
Reidy responded to the letter and said KiwiRail and its board took the matters raised seriously.
“Although the findings in your letter, that KiwiRail’s safety culture and practices fall short of required standards, were unexpected, we are grateful that you have alerted us and we are determined to embrace this as an opportunity to make a step change in our approach to safety.”
Reidy suggested KiwiRail’s board should meet with the regulators about their concerns.
Another letter from Reidy that November said KiwiRail had engaged consultants to help them navigate a “safety leadership cultural and maturity assessment programme”.
The process involved a company-wide safety perception survey, more than 20 site visits, and 50 worker focus groups.
“From February 2023 we will work with our teams to focus on the right initiatives to build a safety mindset, visible leadership, critical risk and controls, front-line engagement and the right assurance and accountability discipline to ensure we work to care and protect our people and build a high-performance safety culture,” Reidy said.
Interislander and KiwiRail were then thrown into the spotlight when the Kaitaki ferry narrowly avoided disaster on January 28 this year.
It lost power with 864 people on board, started drifting toward’s Wellington’s rocky south coast, and issued a mayday call. In the end, enough power was able to be restored for the ferry to limp back to the harbour.
Interislander operations general manager Duncan Roy told the Herald safety was a top priority.
“Since Maritime NZ’s letter to our CE co-signed with two other regulators last year, and following its audit after the Kaitaki loss of power incident this year, we’ve worked hard to improve safety across KiwiRail and to enhance the maintenance of our fleet.
“Six of the nine non-conformities found in the audit have been resolved, and Maritime NZ has advised us the other three will be closed off as part of its regular auditing process. None concerned the safety of our fleet.”
Roy said KiwiRail valued its co-operative relationship with Maritime NZ and will continue to work with the regulator to introduce its two new ferries, which will replace the existing fleet, safely into service in 2025 and 2026.
Further correspondence before the Kaitaki incident delved into the issue of KiwiRail applying for exemptions to maritime rules shortly before scheduled sailings.
In one case, Maritime NZ claimed the ship’s master broadcast to all passengers that the reason for the delay was “we are waiting on a Maritime NZ exemption which should have taken 20 mins and has taken over an hour because it’s the 15th December and people aren’t where they normally are”.
Acting Maritime NZ chief executive Peter Brunt said the incorrect statement publicly brought the watchdog into disrepute.
The exemption was issued within three hours of receiving the application, Brunt said.
“The Master’s view reinforces a perception that Interislander staff consider that exemptions are able to be thoroughly reviewed, considered and issued in minutes; indicating that they consider these are not significant or safety-critical processes.”
Reidy responded by saying Interislander was always transparent with customers about the reasons for a sailing being delayed.
“However, we will raise the issue with Masters and crew about communication protocols regarding disruptions.”
Reidy noted exemptions were part of of a fully functioning safety system.
“The fact that KiwiRail is proactively identifying when exemptions are needed and ensuring they are in place to continue to provide operational assurance is a signal to our shareholder, regulator, and customers that we take our safety responsibilities seriously.”
Roy said that on average Interislander applied for fewer than 10 exemptions a year, outside of the Covid-19 period.
“Through this process, we proactively raise potential issues of non-compliance with Maritime NZ, which satisfies itself that risks have been managed before granting an exemption so we can sail.”
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.
