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RNZ News
an hour ago
- RNZ News
Interislander ferry Aratere to retire in August
Tourism operators aren't sure whether they'll welcome smooth sailing or face choppy waters once the Interislander service loses one of its ferries. The Aratere retires in August, reducing the Cook Strait fleet to two until the expected arrival of new ones in 2029. KiwiRail operates the service and is confident the remaining ferries can handle the demand. Tess Brunton reports. Tags: To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
RNZ News
12-06-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Maritime Union says Aratere ferry should not retire, despite breakdown
Some Thursday morning sailings of the Aratere ferry were cancelled. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone The Maritime Union says the government should not retire the Aratere despite its recent breakdown, as a three-ship fleet is needed for a resilient Cook Strait connection. A propulsion fault meant the ferry had to wait at anchor for hours in Queen Charlotte Sound overnight while a specialist electrician came to fix the problem. The breakdown comes while the Kaiārahi is out of action due to scheduled wet dock maintenance, including emergency repairs, and ahead of the Kaitaki being out of service for a routine safety inspection. Maritime Union of New Zealand national secretary Carl Findlay said the incident was concerning and could have been "catastrophic" if it happened in the Cook Strait, potentially leading to "another huge maritime disaster". He said the crew, who were currently facing the loss of their jobs due to the Aratere's impending retirement, deserved thanks for upholding high standards of professionalism and keeping passengers safe and sound while the ferry was delayed for hours in the Marlborough Sounds. "It must be really playing on their minds, but they carry on with their work day in, day out in a professional manner and they deserve some applause for that." Findlay said problems with the vessels, which were all at the end of life, were well documented and the union didn't want to see the Aratere retired in August as it left only two vessels responsible for maintaining the inter-island link. The union had flagged the dangers of removing a key vessel from service, and the current situation showed that KiwiRail needed to rethink their plan. The union wanted to see the government reverse its decision, spend more money on maintenance and retain the 71 members currently facing the loss of their jobs, until the new ships arrived in 2029. "They're ageing as we all know, it just shows again the absolutely silly call that Nicola Willis made 18 months ago when she collapsed the iREX project." "We'd have a new ferry coming around the corner if [the government] hadn't cancelled that project and cost the tax payer hundreds of millions of dollars." He said the first of those new purpose-built ferries was due to arrive in this year, but were now another four years away, and passengers were likely to face years of disruption. The union wanted to see the government reverse its decision, spend more money on maintenance and retain the 71 members currently facing the loss of their jobs, until the new ships arrived in 2029. Findlay said the entire Interislander fleet was currently hampered by breakdowns, damage, or being taken out of service for audit. Last weekend, Kaiārahi had its bow door damaged in rough seas, which will be welded shut to allow it to continue to operate until a scheduled dry dock in Singapore in July. The Kaitaki would soon be out of action while it underwent a Maritime NZ audit, before it headed to dry dock in Singapore. A KiwiRail spokesperson said it has had to cancel the 4pm Aratere sailing, as it continues to explore what caused the electrical issue that led to the ferry breaking down overnight. It comes after the 6.15am sailing from Wellington and the return 11.00am sailing from Picton were cancelled. KiwiRail is undertaking further testing to identify what caused the problem. Private passengers booked on the 4pm sailing are being shifted to the Kaitaki sailing at 8.45am on Friday, while all freight customers have been moved onto a Kaiārahi sailing which is expected to depart later today. On 7 June, Kaiārahi's bow door sustained some damage when the vessel encountered two large waves off Sinclair Head in Cook Strait. Kaiārahi had departed two hours early from Picton, at 5.30am, to get ahead of the forecast large swells. It was a freight only sailing and the swells were well within the vessel's operating limits, with the wave rider showing a 4.4 metre swell. It has been in scheduled maintenance wet dock since then, with repair work done on the bow door. The spokesperson said the work had almost been completed and the vessel would resume sailing, before it left for dry dock in Singapore on 27 June. It is due back on 18 August. Meanwhile, the Kaitaki will be out of action this weekend while it undergoes its annual Passenger Ship Safety Certificate inspection this weekend. A Maritime NZ spokesperson said they were speaking to KiwiRail after the Aratere's breakdown, to determine if further action needed to be taken. It is seeking more information around what occurred, the actions undertaken to remedy the issue, and assurances that appropriate measures are in place to prevent recurrence. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
06-06-2025
- General
- RNZ News
HMAS Canberra accidentally blocks wireless internet and radio services in New Zealand
By Andrew Thorpe , ABC At 230 metres long, HMAS Canberra is the Royal Australian Navy's largest vessel. Photo: AFP The Department of Defence has acknowledged that HMAS Canberra , the Royal Australian Navy's largest warship, accidentally took out a number of wireless internet and radio services across New Zealand earlier this week during a visit intended to celebrate the sister city relationship between Canberra and Wellington. The incident occurred early on Wednesday morning, as the 230-metre navy flagship made its way through the Cook Strait en route to New Zealand's capital, where the ship's crew is set to be welcomed with a parade and concert on Saturday. According to local internet service providers (ISPs), HMAS Canberra' s navigation radar began interfering with 5GHz wireless access points - devices that bridge wired and wireless networks - in regions on both New Zealand's North and South Islands at around 2am. Wireless internet and radio outages caused by HMAS Canberra. Photo: ABC News The radar interference triggered in-built switches in the devices that caused them to go offline, a safety precaution intended to prevent wireless signals from interfering with radar systems in New Zealand's airspace. Stuff reported that the outages were first raised with Radio Spectrum Management, an agency within the government's business ministry. The agency notified the New Zealand Defence Force, which notified the Australian Defence Force. "On becoming aware, HMAS Canberra changed frequencies rectifying the interference," a spokesperson for Australia's Department of Defence said. "There are no ongoing disruptions." The outages affected wireless internet and radio services in Taranaki and Marlborough regions, the spokesperson added. Matthew Harrison, managing director of New Zealand-based ISP Primo, said he had never seen anything like the incident before. "This wasn't just a blip. It was full-scale, military-grade radar triggering built-in safety protocols … and it rolled across our network in sync with the ship's movement," he wrote on LinkedIn. "It's not every day a warship takes your gear offline!" Harrison said the incident underlined the fragility of New Zealand's radio spectrum environment, with rural fixed wireless services having to share a frequency band with radar systems. -ABC
ABC News
06-06-2025
- Business
- ABC News
HMAS Canberra accidentally blocks wireless internet and radio services in New Zealand
The Department of Defence has acknowledged that HMAS Canberra, the Royal Australian Navy's largest warship, accidentally took out a number of wireless internet and radio services across New Zealand earlier this week during a visit intended to celebrate the sister city relationship between Canberra and Wellington. The incident occurred early on Wednesday morning, as the 230-metre navy flagship made its way through the Cook Strait en route to New Zealand's capital, where the ship's crew is set to be welcomed with a parade and concert on Saturday. According to local internet service providers (ISPs), HMAS Canberra's navigation radar began interfering with 5GHz wireless access points — devices that bridge wired and wireless networks — in regions on both New Zealand's North and South islands at around 2am. The radar interference triggered in-built switches in the devices that caused them to go offline, a safety precaution intended to prevent wireless signals from interfering with radar systems in New Zealand's airspace. Stuff, an online news outlet in New Zealand, reported that the outages were first raised with Radio Spectrum Management, an agency within the government's business ministry. The agency notified the New Zealand Defence Force, which notified the Australian Defence Force. "On becoming aware, HMAS Canberra changed frequencies rectifying the interference," a spokesperson for Australia's Department of Defence said. "There are no ongoing disruptions." The outages affected wireless internet and radio services in New Zealand's Taranaki and Marlborough regions, the spokesperson added. Matthew Harrison, managing director of New Zealand-based ISP Primo, said he had never seen anything like the incident before. "This wasn't just a blip. It was full-scale, military-grade radar triggering built-in safety protocols … and it rolled across our network in sync with the ship's movement," he wrote on LinkedIn. "It's not every day a warship takes your gear offline!" Mr Harrison said the incident underlined the fragility of New Zealand's radio spectrum environment, with rural fixed wireless services having to share a frequency band with radar systems.
RNZ News
06-06-2025
- Climate
- RNZ News
Cook Strait ferries cancelled as six-metre swells forecast
Cook Strait ferries are being cancelled this weekend due to forecast swells. Photo: Supplied Cook Strait ferries are being cancelled this weekend due to forecast six-metre swells. Interislander has canned all passenger sailings for Saturday due to the conditions. "All passengers are being moved to alternative sailings," it said on its website. Bluebridge has also cancelled all Saturday sailings, and one in the early hours of Sunday morning. "We are monitoring the situation closely, and if further sailings are impacted, we will notify you via text and email at the earliest opportunity," the operator told customers. The MetService says waves could reach swells of six metres on Saturday, with a warning lasting to Sunday morning. A fresh surge of winter weather was expected to descend on the South Island on Friday , bringing snow, sub-zero temperatures and the risk of travel disruption. More to come. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
