Photo: Screenshot / MarineTraffic
Passengers have been stuck on the Interislander ferry, Kaiārahi, for almost six hours.
The ship experienced steering problems during its voyage across the Cook Strait to Picton on Friday.
Wellington harbourmaster Grant Nalder said the ferry left Wellington at about 3:30pm, but turned back from entering Tory Channel.
“As they were approaching Tory Channel and did their regular checks, they found something was behaving oddly with the steering.
“They didn’t go through Tory Channel, just went out into Cook Strait to test what it was. After doing that, they decided they were going to return to Wellington.
“It’s a technical problem with the steering, but they still have full control of the wheel. They’re just taking a prudent approach.”
He said the ship has been slowly heading back to Wellington Harbour since about 8pm.
It was expected to reach the harbour at about 10pm, where passengers could finally get off the ferry.
Nalder said once it got back to the wharf, they would work on resolving the problem.
“There will be checks done before it returns to service.”
Appropriate authorities notified – Interislander boss
Interislander executive general manager Duncan Roy confirmed it would be investigating the issue.
“The 3.30pm Kaiārahi sailing to Picton is returning to Wellington so that a technical issue can be investigated and resolved by our technical staff based there.
“The issue became apparent as part of standard procedures prior to entering Tory Channel and the return to Wellington was decided on as a safety precaution rather than sailing through the Sounds.
“The appropriate authorities have been notified, and we will work with our passengers and freight customers to reschedule them.”
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