MASSIMO SOPRANO, formerly the Ships Programme Director at Kiwi-Rail’s government-cancelled iReX Cook Strait ferry replacement project, has returned to familiar territory with his appointment to the NZ Treasury as Ferry Procurement Lead.
Mr Soprano, who spent almost nine years with Tasmania’s TT Line as marine project manager and head of strategic projects, during which time he oversaw the multi-million dollar refurbishment of Spirit of Tasmania I and II and undertook early work for their (since much delayed) replacements,joined KiwiRail in July 2019.
His iReX position ended last year after the project was wound down following a December 2023 directive by incoming finance minister Nicola Willis.
Mr Soprano, whose LinkedIn profile details extensive maritime industry experience in a range of operational, safety and personnel management roles, including 10 years at sea as a ship’s officer on tanker, dry-cargo and passenger ships before moving to shore based management positions with some of the leading cruise lines both in Australia and in the USA.
Following the abandonment of iReX he returned to Melbourne in August last year and took up the position of general manager of Melbourne-Burnie freight ro-ro operator Strait Link.
NZ’s incoming National Government dumped iReX after cost blow-outs attributed to overruns in shoreside infrastructure and has still to extricate itself from a NZ$550 million fixed-price contract with South Korea’s Hyundai Mipo Dockyard for the planned rail/ro-pax replacements for KiwiRail’s three aging and trouble-plagued Interislander vessels.
The government has reportedly set aside $NZ900 million for the ‘replacements replacements’, although there’s no breakdown of expenditure nor a definitive timeline, and critics say it has mostly ignored the recommendations of the independent Ministerial Advisory Group it appointed to propose the best way forward.
