‘Ticking time bomb’: Stark ferry warning

A maritime lawyer’s warning that Wellington’s lack of an open water salvage tug was a ‘‘ticking time bomb’’ reached authorities months before the Kaitaki’s mayday call on Saturday.

‘‘Regrettably, it is not a matter of if, but when, we have a similar situation [of a ship losing power] at the Port of Wellington,’’ Izard Weston lawyer John Burton wrote to the Traffic Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) on August 9. The letter reached Transport Minister Michael Wood’s office by October.

‘‘There will be no tug available to assist.’’

Burton’s letter proved prescient: Interislander ferry Kaitaki lost power to all four engines on Saturday while crossing Cook Strait and strong southerly winds pushed it, with 864 people on board, towards the rugged coastline west of Wellington until anchors held it and engineers restored power.

The letter has come to light amid a December Official Information Act request to the Ministry of Transport for reports, briefings, and advice to Wood.

A spokesperson from Wood’s office yesterday said Kiwirail had told him Saturday’s emergency response was ‘‘an appropriate and feasible response to the situation’’.

They confirmed he met with Maritime NZ on Tuesday and was meeting with Kiwirail yesterday to discuss their investigations.

Wellington’s two harbour tugs made their way to assist when the Kaitaki called for help just after 5pm on Saturday.

However, it emerged that tugs with specific open water towing capability, bought as a result of the 1968 Wahine tragedy, had been replaced by more-powerful tugs – ones designed for in-harbour work and less-suited to attaching to stricken ships in open water.

The revelation in Burton’s letter comes after Wellington Harbourmaster Grant Nalder this week expressed doubt about Wellington’s tugs’ ability to haul a large stricken ship in Cook Strait, and confirmation he has long called for the Greater Wellington Regional Council to help Wellington get an open water capable tug.

For Burton, the situation was a regression to before the 1968 Wahine disaster. Fifty-one people died on the day of the Wahine tragedy, in which the ferry hit rocks near the Wellington Harbour entrance. Two others died later.

‘‘I can state with confidence that there is no tug in Wellington today with salvage capability,’’ Burton warned TAIC chief commissioner Jane Meares.