Bluebridge Ferry.
Photo: RNZ / Ruth Hill
A passenger on board Bluebridge’s Cook Strait ferry says the company did not communicate at all with passengers following an accident onboard the vessel on Friday morning.
A crewman aboard the Straitsman suffered a broken wrist after he was struck by a reversing vehicle.
It happened while the ship was docked in Wellington, ahead of its 8.15am sailing, which was delayed.
Passenger Lizzie Knighton said they first became aware something was wrong when a call for any nurses or doctors on board came over the loudspeaker.
“Then every update from there was basically just saying like there will be an update soon,” Knighton said. “We had no communication at all.”
Knighton said passengers turned to updates from the media about what was happening on the ship.
Bluebridge spokesperson Will Dady said the crew member had been released from hospital and is now recovering at home, and Bluebridge was working with authorities to establish what happened.
Knighton said there was a lack of consideration to safety when exiting the ferry. There was a walkway between a truck and a wall so narrow, people had to walk through it sideways, she said.
“I just thought that was pretty ridiculous given what had happened this morning with somebody and the truck.”
Knighton said staff directed cars to drive around foot passengers once the ferry was docked, resulting in some people nearly being hit.
“It was just a whole nightmare.”
Knighton’s own nightmare started before the accident. She was supposed to be sailing out at 8.15pm Thursday, but it got cancelled. She was then on a 2am sailing, but she said they ended up waiting in the terminal until after 6am.
Bluebridge and Interislander ferries have been plagued with mechanical faults lately, causing delays and cancellations.
Photo: LDR / STUFF
Another Bluebridge passenger told RNZ she was due to sail from Picton to Wellington on the Straitsman ferry last night. But she said they ended up on the Connemara, which then was unable to sail due to an engineering issue.
In the morning, the passenger said they were told there were no standbys available on the next ferry and they had to leave the terminal.
“People started to shout and argue, some broke down into tears, others told us they had been waiting there for days/weeks, and the same thing keeps happening.”
She said she had still had not received any official email or text about her cancelled booking and there were no updates on the Bluebridge website.
She called it “a complete shambles”.
Nervous for return trip
Knighton, upon arriving in Picton, she’d seen people with signs trying to get to places like Blenheim where they might be able to catch a plane back.
She said other people’s experiences of having their ferry pushed back days has made her nervous for their return trip.
This weekend, Bluebridge said its Straitsman is sailing and the Connemara is out of service.
Interislander has confirmed its Kaiarahi and Aratere ferries are also sailing, carrying both passengers and freight.
Interislander executive general manager Walter Rushbrook said its Kaitaki ferry will continue to sail as freight-only while the audit process takes place.
“Currently there is no firm timeline for the return of passengers.”
He said its Valentine ferry will also sail as possible and when necessary, but they remain constrained by crewing numbers.
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