KiwiRail has confirmed when its Interislander ferry, the Aratere, is expected to make its final sailing.

The ferry will be retired when the Kaiārahi returns to service following scheduled dry-dock maintenance in Singapore.

KiwiRail has announced it expects the Kaiārahi to return to service at 3.30pm on August 18 and anticipates the Aratere‘s final scheduled Cook Strait sailing will depart Picton at 11am on the same day.

The Aratere has been plagued by problems in recent years. A propulsion fault this year meant the ferry had to wait at anchor for hours in Queen Charlotte Sound overnight while a specialist electrician came to fix the problem, while last year the ferry ran aground in Picton and was unable to be refloated until the following morning.

The ship, which first entered service on the Cook Strait in 1999, is being retired ahead of port infrastructure work being done in preparation for the new rail-enabled ferries set to arrive in 2029.

The Aratere’s wharf in Picton is due to be demolished later this year as part of the new ferry project and as it requires specific loading and unloading infrastructure, it cannot use the other Interislander wharf in Picton while port upgrades happen there and in Wellington.

Interislander executive general manager Duncan Roy said the ferry’s retirement was a significant milestone in the company’s transition to a modernised fleet.

“This is the start of our preparation for the new ships, and while it will have some impact on capacity on Cook Strait until they arrive, we will make it as smooth as possible for our passengers and freight customers. No booking changes are required for freight customers or passengers as a new two-ship timetable is already in place.

“The capacity of the two new ferries will be larger than our current fleet of three ships, so while this change is challenging, it’s a necessary step towards a more efficient and sustainable future.”

To support rail freight operations, Interislander would use road-bridging, where rail freight was moved by trailer onto its vessels, and reconnected to trains at the other end.

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“Significant preparation has already gone into super-charging this operation - including bringing in new equipment, recruiting and training new staff and fine-tuning our rail freight handling processes,” Roy said.

“Our transition timetable optimises the additional time needed for road bridging to ensure all rail freight will be serviced at the levels our rail freight customers need and expect. This has already been factored into current bookings.”

Roy said the business was still considering options for the sale of the Aratere after retirement, and the vessel would be laid up at its Wellington berth while it worked with a shipbroker.

A private farewell event for the Aratere crew would be held early next month.

-RNZ