STRAIT FERONIA

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

Ferry sidelined due to technical problems

On Feb 27, 2025, the 'Strait Feronia' had to cancel its sailings due to mechanical problems, and was sidelined inWellington until the afternoon of Feb 28, leaving customers stranded in Picton and Wellington. The operator Strait N-Z apologised to passengers, who were to be either refunded or rebooked. Equestrians and their horses heading north for Horse of the Year, which starts in Hawke's Bay on March 3, were among those that were stuck in the South Island. The last sailings of the 'Strait Feronia' were on Feb 26. The 'Strait Feronia' usually operates four trips daily - two from Wellington to Picton and a further two from Picton to Wellington. The sailings of Bluebridge’s second ferry, the 'Connemara', have been continuing as normal.

Allision in Picton

The "Strait Feronia" allided with a dock in Picton on July 16, 2019, while trying to berth in windy condidions. Repair teams were mobilized to get the floating link-span of the vessel fixed as quickly as possible. The impact had damaged the wharf and left a the ferry unable to dock. Engineers were called to assess the damages to the "Strait Feronia". She was berthed alongside Waitohi Wharf until further assessments could be carried out in daylight. Several Cook Strait sailings had to be cancelled and caused disruptions.

Ferry is leaking oil

The "Strait Feronia" was permanentky leaking oil into the Cook Strait - maybe for months - with no clear solution in sight. The leak was minor - five litres in a 24-hour period at most - but a fix for the problem would require a trip overseas to a dry dock. The leak was noticed in one of the two stem tube seals. There was an intermittent leak of oil that sometimes was nothing and some days was up to five litres. Bluebridge has been using expensive bio-degradable lubricant until the problem was fixed. The closest dry dock of sufficient size was in Sydney but it was a naval dock that was hard to get a slot in.