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New Zealand has ordered inter-island RoRo ferry operator KiwiRail to pay a fine of NZ$400,000 ($234,671) after it was found culpable of endangering the safety of passengers. It stems from a June 2024 incident in which one of the company's ferries grounded because the crew prematurely activated the autopilot system while the vessel was navigating out of the harbor.
On the evening of June 21, KiwiRail's ferry Aratere ran aground shortly after departing for a sailing between Picton and Wellington. At the time of the incident that occurred at Titoki Bay in Picton Harbor, the ferry had 47 people on board, including 39 crewmembers and eight passengers. Salvors managed to refloat the ferry the following evening, and there were no oil spills and no breaches to the vessel's hull.
Following the incident, Maritime NZ went on to launch investigations that revealed the grounding was a result of a steering system failure on the aging ferry. Weeks before the grounding, Aratere had received a new steering control system to work with the ship's autopilot and integrated bridge navigation system. An investigation found that the vessel grounded because the crew did not know how to control the vessel's autopilot when they realized she was heading towards the shoreline.
In its investigations, Maritime NZ found failures in KiwiRail's change management processes and organizational controls, including training and familiarization, documentation, control of critical steering functions, and bridge resource management.
"Steering systems are safety-critical. The crew must have a clear understanding of how the systems work and how to override any automatic commands," said Kirstie Hewlett, Maritime NZ Director. "In this case, there was a clear knowledge gap about how the newly installed steering console worked, including in an emergency."
Maritime NZ prosecuted KiwiRail in June of last year after completing the investigation into the grounding. It charged the company with breaches under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015. The company pleaded guilty on two counts, and a judge in the Wellington District Court this week ordered KiwiRail to pay a fine of NZ$375,000 ($219,860) and NZ$25,000 ($14,655) costs.
"This event sends a clear message to operators to ensure masters and crews are properly trained and provided sufficient time and opportunity to familiarize themselves when introducing safety-critical equipment, so that they can correctly undertake all safety-critical actions on the vessel," noted Hewlett.
KiwiRail operated the 184-meter (604-foot) Aratere for 25 years before she was retired in August last year and sold for scrap. Controversy was never far from the vessel during her years of service, which were characterized by several technical problems, engine failures, and groundings.
The ferry had been Interislander's only rail-enabled ferry, making 24 crossings on the Cook Strait route per week. She had a capacity of 600 passengers, 30 trucks or 230 cars, and 28 rail cars. She was retired to make way for a new generation of ferries, and in the meantime, the company is maintaining the vital service with its two other vessels.
It is the latest in a series of embarrassments for the ferry operator. Regulators also fined the company in 2024 for an incident the prior year when another one of its ferries blacked out with more than 800 people. The investigation cited poor maintenance and found the company had installed an outdated critical engine gasket and that it was overdue for replacement when the incident occurred. It also became embroiled in a politically charged fight over the replacement plan for its fleet that saw a contract awarded to a South Korean shipbuilder and then canceled by the new government.
Fuente: Maritime Executive
