A ferry operator in New Zealand has been ordered to pay fines totalling NZ$400,000 (US$240,000) over the grounding of one of its vessels in the Cook Strait nearly two years prior.
Aratere, a Ro-Pax ferry operating under the Interislander brand of state-owned transport company KiwiRail, ran aground shortly after she departed on a scheduled voyage in the late evening (local time) of June 21, 2024.
The vessel struck the side of a cliff shortly after sailing three kilometres out of Picton on South Island.
The ferry was eventually refloated. However, Maritime New Zealand later charged KiwiRail with violating the New Zealand Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 due to the company's failure to keep the crew and the passengers safe while on board the ferry during and after the grounding.
A preliminary investigation by the country's Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) revealed that Aratere had a new steering control system installed in four of the five command consoles on the bridge in the months prior to the incident. TAIC said, however, that the system was not installed on the autopilot console, which was part of the original track pilot integrated bridge navigation system by a different manufacturer.
As a result, the ferry had remained under autopilot control in the last few minutes leading to the grounding. Although the crew were able to regain manual steering control, it was too late to prevent the vessel from running aground.
Earlier this week, KiwiRail was sentenced by the Wellington District Court and was ordered to pay NZ$375,000 (US$224,000) in fines plus NZ$25,000 (US$15,000) in costs.
Aratere was retired from service last August and has since been sold. Under the agreement, the buyer will deliver the ferry to a specialist recycling shipyard in India.
KiwiRail earlier said that the vessel's retirement was done to make way for port infrastructure needed for the arrival of two brand new rail-enabled ferries arriving in 2029.