Serious concerns over Aratere ferry removal

The Mari­time Uni­on of New Zea­l­and (MUNZ) is express­ing ser­i­ous con­cern fol­low­ing the announce­ment that the Inter­is­lander ferry Aratere is being removed from ser­vice indef­in­itely.

The Uni­on says the loss of the rail-enabled Aratere, a cru­cial link between the North and South Islands, sig­ni­fic­antly weak­ens the resi­li­ence of New Zeal­and’s nation­al sup­ply chain.

Mari­time Uni­on of New Zea­l­and Nation­al Sec­ret­ary Carl Find­lay says the situ­ation high­lights the ongo­ing con­sequences of Fin­ance Min­is­ter Nic­ola Willis’s decision to can­cel the iReX pro­ject.

Mr Find­lay says the Mari­time Uni­on will be enga­ging in a con­sulta­tion pro­cess with KiwiRail and will be seek­ing no or min­im­al job losses for ferry crew.

“MUNZ will be work­ing to ensure our mem­bers’ futures are pro­tec­ted dur­ing this peri­od of instabil­ity caused by poor plan­ning and can­celled invest­ment by Ms Wil­lis.”

Mr Find­lay says the announce­ment is caus­ing con­cern for mari­time work­ers, trans­port oper­at­ors, and the New Zea­l­and pub­lic.

“The remov­al of the Aratere is anoth­er blow to the reli­ab­il­ity of the Cook Strait cross­ing, a situ­ation entirely pre­dict­able after the can­cel­la­tion of the iReX pro­ject,” says Mr Find­lay.

“We con­sist­ently warned about the fra­gil­ity of the age­ing ferry fleet. Fin­ance Min­is­ter Nic­ola Wil­lis’s decision to scrap the plan for new, pur­pose-built fer­ries has left New Zea­l­and reli­ant on older ves­sels prone to fail­ure. Los­ing the Aratere, espe­cially its rail freight cap­ab­il­ity, puts immense pres­sure on the remain­ing ves­sels and the entire trans­port net­work.”

Mr Find­lay says the Mari­time Uni­on sup­por­ted Min­is­ter of Rail Hon. Win­ston Peters work to get a new deal for rail-enabled fer­ries.

But he says the remov­al of the Aratere now leaves a major gap for a num­ber of years until the new fer­ries are in ser­vice.