The Bluebridge ferry Connemara needed to be towed back to Wellington this morning after it lost power and started drifting in the Cook Strait overnight.
The port was notified by the Harbour Master at around 10.45pm.
Bluebridge spokesperson Will Dady said there was “no immediate threat” to those onboard the vessel or to the vessel itself while it drifted.
“Tugs were quickly dispatched to assist the ship safely back to Wellington, while the ship’s engineers worked to understand and resolve the issue.”
He said there were 24 passengers, 13 freight drivers and crew onboard.
The Bluebridge ferry Connemara is on Friday night still docked in Wellington after losing power and drifting in Cook Strait overnight. (Source: 1News)
“Everyone on board was very calm, with lighting restored almost immediately. The crew responded well to a situation for which they are trained.
“The company will now begin an investigation to establish what caused the issue.”
Wellington harbourmaster Grant Nalder said the Connemara left Wellington last night and lost power at about 10.20pm off the south coast.
“They were drifting away from the coast, so they weren’t in immediate danger,” he told 1News.
CentrePort sent two tugboats, Tapuhi and Tiaki, that got a tow line in the Connemara at about 1am this morning.
“I’m sure they’re pretty happy to be getting back into Wellington Harbour – not Picton like they were expecting, but good result,” he said.
He said the ship’s lights were being powered by an emergency generator.
In a statement this morning at about 6.30am, Transport Minister Simeon Brown said the ship was safely back in Wellington following the incident.
“Thankfully, everyone is safe, with the Wellington harbourmaster and Strait NZ crew and operator working closely together to get the ship back to port,” he said.
“Maritime NZ will now be looking into the cause of the incident, and the vessel will remain in port until it is deemed safe to resume operations.”
In a service alert on its website, Bluebridge confirmed the ship lost power and said there was no “immediate threat” to people aboard.
It said the Connemara would need to remain in port while work was undertaken to find and resolve the issue.
Dady said: “Connemara sailings today and tomorrow have been cancelled.
“Crew worked with the 24 passengers and 13 freight drivers to facilitate accommodation or onward travel needs, depending on what they wanted to do following disembarking the ship in Wellington.”
CentrePort chief executive Anthony Delaney told 1News in a statement today the port’s review into the Kaitaki 2023 stranding resulted in “improvements” which were used last night.
“We carried out our own internal debrief after the Kaitaki and considered what worked well, what we could do differently and what equipment or training would help us in future.
“In particular, we proactively purchased some new flexible tow lines for both tugs that could be used in similar situations. Our investment supports vessels in need and is demonstrative of how we consider every opportunity to continuously improve.”
He said CentrePort’s focus is now turned to supporting its other customers who were impacted by last night’s stranding.
“We’d like to thank our customers impacted by this event for their patience and understanding.”
Vessel placed under detention notice – Maritime NZ
A Maritime New Zealand spokesperson today confirmed the Connemara will remain in Wellington under a detention notice until it is “deemed safe to resume operations”.
“The ferry will remain under the detention notice until a range of conditions are satisfied and Maritime NZ, as the regulator gets assurance about the vessel,” Maritime New Zealand said.
“In order to get released from detention; the cause needs to be identified, all repairs need to be made, assurances need to be given by its Flag State and Classification society, these need to be passed on to Maritime NZ and a Port State Control Inspection needs to take place.”
Maritime NZ said it may amend the notice depending on information it receives as investigations continue.
“We are currently making inquiries into what caused the ferry to lose power.”
