Second New Zealand ferry loses power and drifts

Photo: RNZ / Richard Tindiller

From RNZ yesterday:

A Bluebridge ferry passenger says people were plunged into darkness when a ship briefly lost power coming into Wellington Harbour on Saturday afternoon.

Wellington Harbourmaster Grant Nalder said the ferry had a problem on board which caused it to lose power about 4.45pm.

“They passed that on, assistance was called, there was a tug heading out towards them. They actually resolved it themselves, got power on, carried on up towards the berth and used the tug as a precaution getting into the berth,” he said. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/517826/bluebridge-ferry-loses-power-while-entering-wellington-harbour

From Maritime Executive in January 2024:

New Zealand Prosecutes RoRo Operator for Blackout Due to Maintenance Issue

New Zealand ferry
RoRo ferry Kaitaki blacked out in 2023 nearly running on to the rocks due to a maintenance failure investigators reported (KiwiRail file photo)

New Zealand regulators have taken the unusual step of filing charges against the operator of a large inter-island ferry after the vessel suffered a power failure a year ago. The charges now in a New Zealand court came after an extensive investigation by the regulator Maritime New Zealand as well as a critical report from the country’s Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) which called on Maritime New Zealand to address critical safety issues. https://maritime-executive.com/article/new-zealand-prosecutes-roro-operator-for-blackout-due-to-maintenance-issue

From BBC Scotland in April 2023:

Sudden mechanical failure likely cause of Orkney ferry grounding

Passengers on lifeboat with ferry in background
Image caption,All 60 passengers were taken ashore by lifeboats

A sudden mechanical failure is likely to have been the cause of a car ferry grounding in Orkney, the coastguard has said.

The Pentland Ferries, MV Pentalina had 60 people on board when it grounded at St Margaret’s Hope on Saturday night.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-65441218

Right, I’m going to search for CalMac ferry drifts! They’ve got 33. One of them must have. Nope, just this:

CalMac crew help rescue of drifting fishing boat off Kerrera

MV Isle of Mull
Image caption,The crew of the MV Isle of Mull were among those who responded to an emergency call

A CalMac ferry crew has been praised after going to the aid of a broken down fishing boat.

The MV Isle of Mull was sailing out of Oban when the crew was asked to help in the rescue on the west side of the Isle of Kerrera just before midday.

The fishing boat with two people onboard had suffered engine failure and was drifting close to shore.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-66125720

The more I research, the more I realise, CalMac is the best in the world.

6 thoughts on “Second New Zealand ferry loses power and drifts”

  2. O/T

    If ever you needed definitive confirmation that Dross the Tory branch office manager was and is very much clueless and thus has absolutely no political acumen (but does have a brass neck) then it is his ‘election’ campaign in Scotland……….. that is largely focusing on what he is presenting as a “political Scandal” connected to MSP Michael Mathieson where he, Dross, decided to hold a campaign event in Mr Mathieson’s constituency yesterday……..note also that he , Dross, is not standing in the next GE……as he is such a coward he cannot face the public in a vote and thus risk ……’losing face’……. in him most likely being booted out as an MP by his disappointed constituents in this GE…..where most of his constituents must now be sick of the succession of Tory ‘Political scandals’ involving Dross’s Tory HQ party at WM……and too their having to suffer via Tory HQ’s incompetence and mismanagement of the UK economy……

    ‘Not touch with a Barge pole’ should be the focus for Dross in relation to the words ‘Political Scandals’ as everyone relates that political scandals are, as a major and constant issue , something that they see as synonymous with the Tory party……but Dross is very much like Labour in assuming that the public in Scotland can be treated as if morons who thus cannot come to the conclusion that with Dross talking about ‘Political scandals’ then they, the public here , may then think in respect to Dross and his political party….. ‘Well your a fine one to talk as look at your party’…….

    We all remember how Dross was so very conflicted when his boss Boris Johnson was involved in a political scandal as in #PartyGate…..when Dross was asked if he, Johnson, should resign then Dross was like ‘Yeah but no but yeah’…..but now with Mr Mathieson there in no indecision or conflict with what Dross has determined should happen….as in nothing but his, Mr Mathieson’s, political scalp is acceptable…..then Dross will more than likely ‘move onto’ another individual (victim) within the SNP ……..

    So where are and indeed what are the Tory policies in Dross’s GE campaign….or are the Tories going to campaign solely on the basis of slagging off the SNP and assume that will be sufficient to either maintain the seats they currently hold or gain more seats in Scotland……or are they, Tories here, doing their bit for the (non) Union in their mostly attacking the SNP with the best outcome being, if they the Tories themselves cannot keep their seats or make gains, then at least the Labour party , a pro UK party, will undeservedly perhaps steal seats from the SNP thus the UK is safe (they think) for a little while longer than it would be with a pro Independence majority in Scotland in the next GE result……

    Anyway talking of Tory ‘Political scandals’ WTF is happening with the Tory peer Michelle Mone and the National Crime Agency investigation…..Dross is up in arms about what he says is Mr Mathieson initially lying yet Tory peer Michelle Mone admitted she initially lied about her and her husband’s connection to the PPE Medpro contracts…..when in 2023 her husband admitted as in he “confirmed for the first time that they were involved in the company -including that he, her husband, chaired and led the operation and put up half the money for PPE Medpro”…….

    This first came to light as a political scandal linked to Tory pee Michelle Mone in 2020 when questions were being asked about Baroness Mone’s apparent links to this company that was awarded  two contracts worth £200m from the Tory UK government via what was referred to as the VIP lane system (where contracts for PPE equipment were fast tracked and thus being awarded to individuals and companies linked to the Tory party as either them as friends of Tory politicians, relatives of Tory politicians, , Tory donors or Tory politicians/peers connected to PPE companies……it was also reported that her, Mone’s, ‘Leave of absence’ from the HOL’s was followed by a statement from another Tory peer where he, as Energy minister as in the Tory peer Martin Callanan, had urged Baroness Mone to “see sense” and not return to the House of Lords following her leave of absence…….so why is Dross , who has apparently now appointed himself as the Chief of the ‘political moral police’ (LOL) within the UK, not start asking that she, Mone, should lose her peerage…..why indeed….well that is filed away in ‘Tory hypocritical double standards statements’……also known as ‘Do as we say not as we do’ which is in the small print of the Tory membership application to become a Tory politician……which Dross obviously adheres to in practice…..and follows to the letter……where everybody else is guilty of a ‘political scandal’ bar Dross’s Tory party……..but is it not a ‘political scandal’ in itself that Dross dares to accuse others of this when one looks at the Tory HQ’s own record of shame via political scandals.….if it’s not….then it should be….

    NMRN

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. There is no scandal in what happened too Mathieson, I say ‘ too ‘ because Mathieson is a victim not a perpetrator. It’s Dross and his party who are behaving scandalously, their dishonesty is frankly repugnant as is the media who give these insidious and deceitful accusations airtime.

      Golfnut

      Like

      Reply

  4. Very scary, as Iv’e said I think, having spent time in NZ years ago, the waters between North and South Island are known to be very treacherous, wouldn’t want to be on a ferry without power etc there.

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.