Tag: ferries

Poor weather and staff illness Poor weather and staff illness have affected almost 800 ferry passengers waiting for sailings.The Interislander line was forced on Wednesday to cancel 10 Cook Strait crossings and did not expect the Kaitaki to sail until Monday morning.But late yesterday, a ship's master became available, allowing the Kaitaki to resume sailing today.Interislander general manager Thomas Davis said its whole fleet had been affected by high waves, though some passengers who were due to sail on the Kaitaki sailed on the Arahura yesterday afternoon.Bluebridge ferries continued to sail.A union representing ferry staff said there was more to the Interislander staffing problems than sickness. Merchant Service Guild secretary Helen McAra said: "The simple fact is they don't have enough people."We have about 50 of our people with the Interislander. Three deck officers resigned in the past month. They need to look at recruitment. We're happy to work with them on that."Mr Davis said staffing was not a deciding factor in the cancellations.Air passengers also found themselves struggling to get out of Wellington yesterday as both Jetstar and Qantas cancelled all flights to and from Wellington, Queenstown and Christchurch as the Chilean volcanic ash cloud returned.Air New Zealand continued ...