A single return sailing on the Interislander's Kaiārahi ferry was cancelled after an intermittent technical fault emerged just hours before the vessel was due to enter a scheduled maintenance layby.
Interislander operations general manager Taru Sawhney confirmed that Kaiārahi was berthing in Wellington at around 2.30am on Saturday when the fault was identified. The vessel berthed safely.
A scheduled maintenance layby had already been planned between Saturday afternoon and Monday afternoon. Sawhney said Kaiārahi's 3.30am Saturday sailing and its return from Picton both had to be cancelled while the fault was investigated.
"We did a lot of work carrying out further investigations, repairs and testing over the weekend layby," Sawhney said.
Following the layby, the ferry still needed to complete final sea trials and receive the required approvals before resuming service. Given the time that process requires, and as a precaution, Interislander also cancelled Kaiārahi's next scheduled departure from Wellington at 3.30pm on Monday, along with the 9.30pm return sailing from Picton.
"We apologise for this disruption but safety has to be the priority. All freight and passenger bookings on the sailings will be cancelled. Passengers will be moved to alternative sailings where possible or offered a full refund," Sawhney said.
"We expect Kaiārahi will return to service, leaving Wellington at 3.30am on Tuesday."
