It is exactly one year since the New Zealand Government decided to pull the plug on KiwiRail’s iRex plan to build two new rail-enabled RoPax ferries for Interislander. Reason: ballooning costs, up to 3 billion NZD (1.653 billion EUR). On Wednesday 11 December, the Government announced new plans:...
https://ferryshippingnews.com/two-new-ferries-in-2029-for-the-cook-strait/
New Zealand ferry operator Interislander has confirmed that a steering failure had caused the Ro-Pax vessel Aratere to run aground near Picton on South Island late last week. This failure caused the ferry to gradually divert from its intended course and head into the side of a cliff shortly after...
A Ro-Pax ferry operating between New Zealand’s North and South Islands ran aground shortly after it departed on a scheduled voyage in the late evening (local time) of Friday, June 21. Aratere, a ferry belonging to the fleet of government-owned company Interislander, struck the side of a cliff...
Nearly 900 people were on KiwiRail Interislander’s 29-year-old ferry Kaitaki when it lost power in a storm in January 2023 whilst entering Wellington Harbour en route from Picton on the South Island. Thankfully, nobody died and in the end, the passengers remained safely on the ship rather than...
Hyundai Mipo Dockyard has officially announced in a statement [in Korean] on 13 February 2024, that the contract to build two RoPax train ferries was cancelled at KiwiRail’s request. The shipbuilder says it will see a claim for design costs as part of its negotiations. This cancellation follows the...
https://ferryshippingnews.com/kiwirail-officially-cancelled-the-contract-for-new-ropax-rail-ferries/
New Zealand transport company KiwiRail has started discussions with South Korea’s Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) to enter a termination agreement for the contract for the build of two new Ro-Pax ferries. KiwiRail said this follows the New Zealand Government’s decision last year not to provide further...
On November 24, 2021, Rederi AB Gotland said it has acquired the Kawasaki-class roro vessel VALENTINE from Cobelfret Ferries. The vessel has been chartered out on a bare-boat basis to KiwiRail for traffic in the Cooks Sound between the North Island and the South Island of New Zealand. VALENTINE is...
https://ferryshippingnews.com/rederi-ab-gotland-buys-belgian-and-bareboat-charters-to-kiwirail/
KiwiRail has ordered two brand-new, bigger, hybrid ferries. (see Ferry Shipping News 1 July 2021) An outstanding public website explains all details and answers a lot of questions. Kiwirail also started a consultation for the upgrading of the Wellington / Kaiwharawhara Interislander ferry terminal....
https://ferryshippingnews.com/kiwirail-outstanding-website-explains-the-new-ship-and-port-projects/
KiwiRail has chartered the CLdN Kawasaki-type roro VALENTINE for an initial 12 months. It is due to arrive in mid-December. Ropax KAIARAHI (ex STENA ALEGRA) requires major repairs to its gearbox after its sudden failure, and those repairs are expected to take at least until March. The remaining two...
https://ferryshippingnews.com/kiwirail-replacement-ferry-to-boost-interislander-service/
HFW advising KiwiRail on shipping industry’s first climate bond initiative-certified finance
HFW is advising KiwiRail on a secured NZ$350m pre- and post-delivery loan facility for its purchase of two newbuilding Interislander rail-enabled ferries to be constructed in Korea.
It is the world’s first shipping loan to be certified by the Climate Bond Initiative.
The facility is provided by Westpac NZ (Facility Agent), Société Générale (Green Loan Coordinator), Bank of America, and National Australia...