The Bluebridge's Connemara and Interislander's Kaiarahi in Picton. Photo: RNZ / Samantha Gee
The Cook Strait ferries have hit yet more troubled waters after four Bluebridge sailings were cancelled on Monday.
Dunedin resident Callum Pawsey was forced to abandon his car and luggage in Wellington almost six weeks ago. He and his partner were booked to sail home from a North Island road trip in February, but the voyage was cancelled at the last minute.
Instead, the couple had to fork out hundreds of dollars to fly home.
"Not even 12 hours notice prior to our sailing we got a text message saying that our ferry crossing had been cancelled and our options were to rebook online or click on the link for a refund. The next alternative ferry crossing was in one month's time."
Or so they thought. The couple booked new flights and were due to travel back to Wellington last week, but got another text saying their sailing was cancelled just as they were about to head to Dunedin Airport.
With the extra airfare fees, the couple is now about $1500 out of pocket and still has not heard about compensation from Bluebridge.
However, they were probably better off than most, Pawsey said.
"My aunty has capacity to hold onto my vehicle, but if I was paying for storage in an airport or another facility it obviously would have cost a lot more, so I guess in the scheme of things there are a lot more people out there that could be a lot worse off."
Bluebridge said Monday's cancellations were because of a technical fault with the vessel Strait Feronia, but was yet to say what the problem was or when it would be fixed. The company would work with customers on a case-by-case basis about extra costs they may have incurred, it said.
Meanwhile, the Interislander's Kaitaki ferry had been out of service since early March because of a gearbox issue, and would not be running until at least Easter Monday. General manager operations Duncan Roy said the repairs were going well and the company expected to announce a date for its return to service soon.
"All customers booked on cancelled Kaitaki sailings since then have either been offered alternative sailings on other ferries or, in some cases, their booking has been cancelled and we have offered them a refund or an opportunity to rebook themselves," Roy said.
"Last week we were able to confirm that all passengers booked over the Easter long weekend have been offered a space on alternative sailings ... [on Monday] we notified passengers booked on 11 April Kaitaki sailings they were also being offered a space on an alternative sailing."
Both companies have been stretched for space. Bluebridge told customers who were meant to travel with vehicles on Monday that a refund was the only option.
Malborough Chamber of Commerce chief executive Pete Coldwell said that was not good enough.
"We have to have a way that when you've got bumped from one of the crossings that you have to be able to get on one of the ones coming up," he said.
"I know that means more disruptions for others but the fact that you've got a car there and they say 'nah you can't get on for three weeks', that can't be acceptable."
The number of cars parked long-term in Picton had dipped following January strandings, but was beginning to increase again following recent cancellations, Coldwell said.
However, it was not just individual travellers who were being impacted; businesses were scrambling to help stranded people, while also dealing with disruptions to supplies.
"This is effectively the de-facto state highway. It affects supplies, it affects transport - so it affects all of the businesses there, and it just makes things more difficult than they would otherwise be. I think the other tricky thing is obviously the reputational damage. It's just not good for Marlborough, or Wellington either."
Transport Minister Michael Wood blamed previous governments for the disruptions, saying they had failed to plan for the long-term. The current regime was investing more than $430 million on two replacement Interislander ferries, he said, but the first one would not arrive until at least 2025.
In the meantime, the minister said he had asked KiwiRail to come up with a plan to make the crucial route more reliable.
Pawsey was hoping for third time lucky - he had another flight and ferry booked for the end of the month. Like many others, his fingers were crossed for smooth-sailing this time.