In our latest update regarding the ferry troubles on the Wellington Picton connection, we mentioned that 5 out of 6 ships weren't sailing anymore. A few days later it's a bit better now since out of the 6 ferries about 3 or 4 are sailing again.
The newest ship on the route however the Connemara seems to be in trouble with new cancellations:
Updated 16:45 pm Friday, 24 February
Connemara sailings cancelled through to Saturday, 25 February
Repairs to fix Connemara’s engineering issue are underway, and the ship must be taken out of service for the next few days while these are completed. At this stage, Connemara sailings will be cancelled up until and including the 2 pm sailing from Picton to Wellington on Saturday, 25 February.
bluebridge.co.nz
Cancellations that also seem to impact the Straitsman:
Straitsman sailing cancellations Sunday, 26 February
Unfortunately, the disruption caused by the Connemara cancellations has significantly impacted the Straitsman’s schedule. This has resulted in delays of approximately 11 hours to the Straitsman's schedule today (Friday), and the cancellation of the 2 am sailing from Wellington and the 7:45 am sailing from Picton on Sunday, 26 February, due to urgent operational requirements.
bluebridge.co.nz
For passengers, this is simply the worst possible experience you can have when you simply want to move from A to B with a ferry. Refunds and all seem to be well organized, but people simply want to cross the Cook Strait.
We understand this is very disruptive to our customers' travel plans, and we are very sorry.
Unfortunately, we have almost no available space on other sailings over the coming weeks, and the only option we will be able to provide to affected passengers is a full refund of the ticket.
bluebridge.co.nz
The Connemara is actually the newest ship (but still an old ship) on the route and is/was only active from 16 February 2023 for Bluebridge:
Current stats of ships on the Cook Strait:
- Interislander MV Kaiarahi: Sailing
- Interislander MV Kaitaki: Sailing
- Interislander MV Aratere: Sailing
- Bluebridge Connemara: Not Sailing, Delays & Cancellations
- Bluebridge Straitsman: Delays & A few Cancellations
- Bluebridge Strait Feronia: Moored in Sydney
For now, it seems that things are getting better ‘overall', only the Connemara needs a bit of time before it's up and running.
Links to the relevant service updates:
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