ARATERE

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

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.

Aratere to be retired no later than end of August

KiwiRail has confirmed that the 'Aratere' will be retiring no later than Aug 30 after it was revealed at the end of April that the ferry would be pulled from service on the Cook Strait this year, to make way for the required Picton port re-development in preparation for the two brand-new Cook Strait ferries arriving in 2029. Work on Picton wharf could begin as soon as October, and no later than March 2026. The vessel, which had served the Cook Strait since 1999, required specific loading and unloading infrastructure so it could not use the other Interislander wharf in Picton. KiwiRail has talked to customers and has confirmed a new two-ship timetable and coordinating rail timetable, as well as developing a plan for road bridging during the transition to the new rail-enabled ships. More than 2200 passenger bookings have now been transferred from the 'Aratere' to the 'Kaitaki' and 'Kaiārahi'. If replacement bookings do not suit customers, they can change their booking without any change fee or receive a full refund. Holders of more than 2500 passenger bookings affected by a change in departure time with the move to the new two-ship timetable have also been notified of their new departure time. Freight customers will be contacted from May 20 to lock in their freight requirements.

Ferry suffered electrical fault

Two scheduled sailings of the 'Aratere' have been cancelled due to an electrical fault on April 22, 2024. The 4 p.m. crossing from Wellington to Picton and the return journey scheduled for 8.50 p.m. ave been cancelled to give engineers time to fix the fault in a hydraulic pump. Affected passengers were being moved to the next sailings, which have space available.