ARATERE

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Final sailing from Picton scheduled

The 'Aratere' will make its final sailing from Picton on Aug 18 at 11 a.m., after 26 years of service. Major infrastructure work in Picton will then commence to prepare for the arrival of new rail-enabled ferries in 2029. The 'Kaiārahi' is returning from dry-dock in Singapore to replace the 'Aratere' after completing the scheduled maintenance. No booking changes will be required for freight customers or passengers as a new two-ship timetable is already in place. Switching from three ships to two ships, the 'Kaitaki' and the 'Kaiārahi', will have a big impact on staff, passengers and freight. The capacity of the two new ferries will be larger than the current fleet of three ships as a necessary step towards a more efficient and sustainable future. The 'Aratere' crew will send the ship off in a private event in early September.

Maritime NZ has filed two charges against KiwiRail after grounding

Maritime NZ has filed two charges against KiwiRail in connection with the grounding of the 'Aratere' on June 21, 2024, which occurred north of Picton with 47 people on-board, after an investigation into the accident of the Interislander ferry. The charges related to failures by the operator to keep crew and passengers safe while on-board the ferry. They were filed under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015. The investigation has looked at systems, policies and procedures and culture, within KiwiRail in relation to the incident, during which a ignificant number of interviews were conducted, and a substantial amount of evidence collated.

Ferry suffered propulsion trouble

The 'Aratere' broke down on its way to Wellington on the night of June 11. The ferry left Picton at about 8.50 p.m., but then experienced an issue with its propulsion drive. Seven commercial vehicle drivers and four foot passengers were on board the ferry while it was anchored for hours, waiting for a specialist electrician to arrive. The issue was fixed at about 1 a.m.. and the vessel resumed its trip to Wellington, with a new ETA as of June 12, 5 a.m. Kiwirail had to cancel the 6.15 a.m. departure from Wellington to Picton and the 11.00 a.m. crossing from Picton to Wellington and also the 4 p.m. sailing, as the search for the cause of the problem was continued. Interislander's customer service teams were amending bookings due to these cancellations. All affected customers were offered an alternative sailing. If the alternative sailing was not suitable, passengers could reschedule for no additional cost.