Ten days of disruption took a more serious turn when Maritime NZ formally detained the Cook Strait ferry Connemara following a Port State Control Inspection on Friday, compounding the difficulties for passengers who had been scrambling for alternative travel between the islands since 21 March.
The vessel ordinarily completes four crossings daily, but a technical fault had put it out of action before the detention was announced. Neither Bluebridge nor Maritime NZ offered any detail about the nature of that original fault.
Maritime NZ was direct about what the detention meant in practical terms. "As a result of findings identified from the inspection process, a decision has been made to detain the ferry. Currently, the ferry is berthed at Wellington, and the detention notice means it cannot sail until the notice has been lifted," the agency said.
StraitNZ Bluebridge spokesperson Will Dady acknowledged the situation while indicating the company had not abandoned hope of a swift return to service, with Tuesday evening still being targeted for Connemara to resume scheduled runs. "We'd like to again apologise and reassure our customers we're doing everything we can to get back to our regular service as soon as possible," he said.
A Maritime NZ spokesperson confirmed that responsibility for completing the necessary repairs rested with Bluebridge, and that Connemara would remain berthed at Wellington until those repairs had been examined and signed off by multiple parties. The agency acknowledged the ongoing impact on passengers and freight operators caught up in the prolonged cancellations.
"Once the issues have been rectified and checked and approved by its classification society surveyor, its flag state (Bahamas), and our inspectors, we will remove the detention," the spokesperson said.
