THE NZ GOVERNMENT has unveiled more about its chosen Cook Strait ferries, after Cabinet signed off on preferred vessel and infrastructure options.
Deputy PM and rail minister Winston Peters this morning revealed details as per its promised date (31 March) saying decisions have been informed by pragmatism.
“By Christmas 2029, two new Interislander ferries will enter service on the Strait. They will get you, your family, the caravan, the dog and all the rest across the Strait,” Mr Peters said.
“New ferries mean we are buying for a full-service life of 30 years. We are looking to the long term.
“These ferries will be about 200 metres in length, and about 28 metres in width. That is longer and wider than the current Interislander fleet of three, meaning it has capacity to serve current and future demand. Both ferries will have capacity for 1,500 passengers.
“Crucially, these ferries will be smaller than what the previous Government contracted in 2021. That saves us materially on infrastructure.”
They will be designed to ensure they can operate through the Tory Channel, operate at a speed of 20 knots and be highly manoeuvrable, and be equipped with modern system redundancies and future proofing solutions to reduce carbon emissions.
Mr Peters said that while the Ministerial Advisory Group [which reported in June last year] had recommended against rail capability the government disagreed.
“The Cook Strait is also an essential connection for the movement of our goods and services. It has a freight task to serve, and these ferries will do exactly that. Trucks will drive onto these ferries. Rail will shunt onto these ferries. Both ferries will have 2.4 kilometres of lanes for trucks and cars, with space for 40 rail wagons.
“We serve both, because they serve every business stretching across our provinces and our cities in New Zealand.
“The reason for this is just plain common sense. Road-only ferries would require us to reconfigure the whole operation, at considerable costs. Road and rail ferries mean we shunt large freight volumes in single movements. That saves time, and time is money,” Mr Peters said.
With regard to infrastructure Mr Peters announced that as the terminal is life-expired it will be replaced by a dual-level linkspan and double lanes, however Wellington’s facilities remain fit-for-purpose at this time.
“Our Government has agreed to a pragmatic infrastructure solution that focused on minimum viable, maximum reuse,” he said. We have said yes to affordability, and no to extravagance.
“This gives the small Ferry Holdings team the mandate they need to negotiate a good ship contract with commercial shipyards.
“Ferry Holdings now has key ship decisions, which enables them to finalise the ship specifications and invite a shortlist of shipyards into a closed tender process. These shipyards won’t know who each other are, and they will compete on price and quality.”
Mr Peters said the government had fielded various proposal but decided in the national interest to directly purchase ships and proceed with an infrastructure plan that meets its needs.
“And for those in the media who want to know, ‘how much will this cost,’ let us say this: we will not approach this like Wellington Water, by which we mean revealing our budget while negotiating the price. That turns a buyers’ market into a sellers’ market.
“When the ship and port agreements are signed later this year, you will know the total cost and the shares between the Government and the ports.
“In the meantime, it should be patently obvious to even the most casual observer that an infrastructure programme that makes use of what is already there will be markedly cheaper than the iReX programme which sought to knock everything down and build utopia in its place.
“Port Marlborough, CentrePort and KiwiRail have approached this with a focus on pragmatism, cost-effectiveness, and a heavy dose of reality. Together with Ferry Holdings, they have a single plan to concentrate on now, and to deliver on.
“And we will back them all the way.”.
