Car stuck in Nelson after ferry confusion

Passengers booked on a cancelled Bluebridge sailing are contradicting the ferry operator’s claims it got them all across Cook Strait within 24 hours.

Bluebridge cancelled the 2.15am sailing from Picton to Wellington on Sunday due to a technical issue. A spokeswoman said all affected passengers would be accommodated on other sailings within 24 hours.

Olive Gaskin was one of those booked on the Bluebridge ferry and said the only information she received was from staff at the ferry terminal, who told her she could not get back until Saturday, almost a week later. This was later changed to today.

She was due in Wellington for work yesterday so booked a $200 flight back from Nelson – an almost-two-hour drive from Picton. Her car was now stuck in Nelson and she did not know how she would get it back.

A number of passengers – including Gaskin – said they received a text message about 9.30pm on Saturday saying the sailing was delayed. It was only about 12.30am to 1am on Sunday, as they were waiting to board, that they found out the ferry was cancelled.

Passengers then flooded into the terminal to get information but there was just a handful of staff on.

Elisabeth Kment, who was trying to get back to work in Wellington, supplied Stuff with a complaint she lodged with Bluebridge and her call for compensation.

‘‘There was no accommodation offered, no compensation of any kind. The only offer was a booking 36 hours away on Monday afternoon, despite there being a ferry six hours away at 8am.’’

She managed to get on a standby sailing to Wellington at 8am on Sunday.

Bluebridge has not been able to say how many passengers were affected by the cancellation, nor what the technical issue was. It had though since been fixed.