In New Zealand’s Cook Straits, two ferry operators have large elderly vessels with recurring safety problems.
Today from Radio New Zealand:
The Bluebridge ferry Connemara has arrived back in Wellington, about five and a-half hours after it lost power and started drifting in Cook Strait. Wellington Harbourmaster Grant Nalder says it blacked out around 10.30pm, not long into its freight sailing bound for Picton, near Sinclair Head.
By 2am Friday, the tug boat Tapuhi was towing Connemara back to Wellington, and a second tug, Tiaki, was providing steerage. By 6am it was towed to Pipitea Wharf but all people remained on board. Nalder said Connemara had 88 people on board, and although the situation was not a rescue, Maritime New Zealand and the Rescue Co-ordination Centre had been keeping an eye on them.
Both the privately owned Bluebridge and the state-owned Interislander have had engine failures in their ferries this year.
In January 2023:
Stricken Cook Strait ferry the Kaitaki drifted more than a nautical mile towards the rugged Wellington south coast in winds gusting over 100kph, it’s been revealed.
The harbour ships that raced to her aid also likely lacked the grunt to pull her and 800 passengers to safety.
Wellington Harbourmaster Grant Nalder on Sunday praised the professionalism of the crew and captain, who battled challenging conditions to drop two anchors and halt the powerless ship’s drift 0.9 nautical miles from shore and 0.6 nautical miles (1.1km) from hitting the sea floor.
In November that same year:
Interislander expects its Cook Strait ferry Kaiarahi will be out of action for a week after having a large hole ripped in its hull.
The ferry was damaged as it came into the berth in Wellington at 10pm on Sunday.
All sailings of the Kaiarahi for Monday had been cancelled, and that could continue for up to a week.
In June 2024:
Cook Strait travel is under pressure, with just one of three Interislander ferries operating following the grounding of the Aratere.
The Aratere will sail again only when Maritime New Zealand gives clearance.
“There will be some disruption for sure,” Interislander Executive General Manager Duncan Roy said.
The Kaiarahi was undergoing maintenance in Picton until July 6, a Kiwirail spokesperson told 1News.
The owners, KiwiRail made a profit of $64.9 million but paid no dividend to shareholders, unlike in earlier years.
Imagine if that happened in Scotland to a CalMac ferry? The MV Hebrides did hit the Lochmaddy harbour wall in 2016. Privately-owned Pentland Ferries had two such incidents with their catamaran-type ferries in Orkney, in 2022 and 2023.
Is New Zealand too poor to run a modern ferry service?
Independent New Zealand’s GDP – $248 bn.
Scotland’s GDP – $221 bn.
Sources:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/502269/cook-strait-ferry-has-dramatic-hole-in-hull
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
Ah, but one of the main cities in New Zealand is called ‘Dunedin’. That should be a clue as to the reason for the ferry failure. The ferry’s name is ‘Connemara’ – the Irish/Scottish factor is hiding in plain sight. What more proof is needed that the Scottish Government has questions to answer about this?
Her Dameness the Jakey of Baillie is rehearsing her performative rage for her ‘pure bealin’ act at Holyrood.
The ferry owners did not make a donation to Labour funds nor did they offer Labour politicians any freebies. ‘Hell mend them!’, said Labour’s chief Cadger, Sir Bungme Starmer.
Alasdair Macdonald
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Well-spotted Chief Engineer!
And, they operate in the hostile environment of the Cook Strait while we operate in the hostile environment of BBC Scotland News and the James Cook editorial straightjacket!
Good eh?
No – My wife says ‘Whit are you on aboot!’
Cap’n Handy
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O/T
In another episode that proves how completely ducked up the UK is politically.
Owen Paterson, former Tory MP, and uber Brexiteer has “taken the UK government to the European Court of Human Rights over a standards watchdog verdict that he broke lobbying rules”.
It was reported that “Mr Paterson, a leading Eurosceptic who once campaigned for the UK to break away from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), argues that the standards watchdog ruling “damaged his good reputation”.
This is yet another ‘Do as I say not as I do’ moment from a pro UK politician.
However this does have a happy ending as in the ECHR has now dismissed his, Paterson’s, case so at least sanity and justice has prevailed here (even if they , sanity and justice, has not prevailed in or for Scotland with the recent result in the UK GE).
Then another Tory MP, Robert Jenrick , is reported in (the non Scottish edition) of The Daily Mail as stating that “English identity is under threat”.
Apparently he, Jenrick, stated that “mass immigration and woke culture have put England’s national identity at risk”.
Typical of Jenrick to still be , as a Tory MP, focusing on that which appeals to those types of voters who , in the recent GE, could not be bothered re-electing a Tory UK government.
Also enough of this “English identity” being supposedly “under threat” as it, as an identity within the UK, has and still is the dominant force (nationality) within the UK .
Also as Labour are now the new UK government, and so they, instead of the Tories, are now under the microscope as the UK government then they are in effect on probation as the new UK government from the voters in the UK.
So far , as the new UK government, they , Labour, are seemingly , like the Tories, now looking to be those who will also not be re-elected as the next UK government in the future UK GE.
As if you advertise “Change” then deliver the opposite of “Change” then only fools will continue to be suckered. The rest of the voters will “Change” their vote and so will not vote for Labour ever again.
Surely in Scotland in 2026 a majority of voters would and should concur with that !
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BTW as per my mention in my above comment about the English edition of The Daily mail with the Robert Jenrick headline.
Well the Scottish (in Title only) edition of The Daily Mail has a #SNPBAD headline about a supposed (but not) “generation of work shy Scots” supposedly all because of a ” broken litany of promises by the SNP” .
So there’s another piece of evidence to prove how ducked up the UK is, but this time, via their UK (English) media.
English edition of a English newspaper with a very pro English headline (as per my other comment above this one).
Then a Scottish (in title only) edition of a English newspaper with an anti Scottish headline.
See that’s how they, the English media, always operate in their UK.
Talking up England while talking down Scotland.
A bunch of Jeremy Hunt’s for sure.
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This is the reason why NZ can’t have nice things that don’t break down… And also because our current National Govt (like the Tories) is “tight” with the purse strings and thinks that only they could possibly know how a ferry service should be run. At the moment the latest colloquialism here is “Stay alive to 25” so they can vote them out.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/520464/finance-minister-nicola-willis-responds-to-ferry-decision-criticism-after-ship-runs-aground
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