(*) New Zealand Dollars
Source: KiwiRail
Ferry Shipping News – Tag Kiwirail
It is exactly one year since the New Zealand Government decided to pull the plug on KiwiRail’s iRex plan to build two new rail-enabled RoPax ferries for Interislander. Reason: ballooning costs, up to 3 billion NZD (1.653 billion EUR).
On Wednesday 11 December, the Government announced new plans:
Read official statements from the Government and KiwiRail
New ferries will ensure safe, resilient connection
Press conference
Press release KiwiRail
KiwiRail welcomes announcement on future ferries for Cook Strait
Photo Kiwirail: KAITAKI passing through Whekenui Bay
Hyundai Mipo Dockyard has officially announced in a statement [in Korean] on 13 February 2024, that the contract to build two RoPax train ferries was cancelled at KiwiRail’s request.
The shipbuilder says it will see a claim for design costs as part of its negotiations.
This cancellation follows the Government’s decision last year not to provide further funding for the Inter-Island Resilient Connection (iReX) project.
KiwiRail now also confirmed [in a press statement] it has now started discussions with Hyundai Mipo for the termination.
KiwiRail says it will be working with international shipbrokers on options to source suitable replacement ferries.
On November 24, 2021, Rederi AB Gotland said it has acquired the Kawasaki-class roro vessel VALENTINE from Cobelfret Ferries.
The vessel has been chartered out on a bare-boat basis to KiwiRail for traffic in the Cooks Sound between the North Island and the South Island of New Zealand.
VALENTINE is now on her way to New Zealand and is expected to arrive there during the second half of December.
KiwiRail has chartered the CLdN Kawasaki-type roro VALENTINE for an initial 12 months.
It is due to arrive in mid-December.
Ropax KAIARAHI (ex STENA ALEGRA) requires major repairs to its gearbox after its sudden failure, and those repairs are expected to take at least until March.
The remaining two Interislander ferries, ARATERE and KAITAKI cannot serve the market alone. The freight-only ferry will free up space for passengers and their vehicles on the other ferries, ensuring New Zealanders can travel during the summer holiday season.
KiwiRail has ordered two brand-new, bigger, hybrid ferries.
(see Ferry Shipping News 1 July 2021)
An outstanding public website explains all details and answers a lot of questions.
Kiwirail also started a consultation for the upgrading of the Wellington / Kaiwharawhara Interislander ferry terminal.
KiwiRail and Korean shipyard Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) have now signed a binding contract for the delivery of two new, state-of-the-art, Cook Strait ferries.
The first will arrive in 2025 and the second in 2026.
The contract price for the two ferries is USD$369 million (NZ$551m).
The two, rail-enabled ferries, when running at full operating capacity, will be able to carry nearly double the number of passengers, and commercial and passenger vehicles when compared with the current fleet.
The rail freight capacity will triple. The only currently rail-enabled ferry ARATERE can carry a maximum of 27, sixty-foot equivalent wagons per sailing. The two new rail-enabled ships will be able to carry 40, sixty-foot equivalent wagons per vessel on up to three return sailings each per day. That is a 300 per cent increase in capacity at peak.
Design: OSK Shiptech.
Contract signing: Stephen O’Keefe, iReX Programme Director; Paul Harper, Chairman of Project Governance Board; iReX, Greg Miller, KiwiRail Group Chief Executive; KiwiRail Chief Operating Officer, David Gordon, Capital Projects and Asset Development; Walter Rushbrook, Executive General Manager, Interislander; Massimo Soprano, iReX Ships Programme Manager. On Screen: Mr. Sam Ka, President & CEO of Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (KSOE) and members of the Hyundai Mipo Dockyard team.
KiwiRail has named Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) based in Ulsan, South Korea as its preferred shipyard to build the two new Interislander ferries.
The aim is to have the final shipbuilding contract signed by mid-2021 and construction of the ferries underway by late 2022.
New Zealand State-owned KiwiRail is taking the next step to procure a new generation of Cook Strait ferries.
A Request for Proposal (RFP) to find a preferred shipyard to build two new ships for the Interislander is being issued today, the next step in the procurement process.
The NZD 400 million contribution in Budget 2020 has enabled KiwiRail to go out to international tender to build the new ships, which are intended to arrive for service in 2024 and 2025. When the ferries are delivered, it will be over 25 years since New Zealand last introduced a brand-new purpose-built ferry to its fleet.
KiwiRail’s iReX Project was established to replace the existing three ship fleet with two new, large, rail-capable ships to be brought into service during 2024 and 2025.
KiwiRail has engaged OSK ShipTech to design the ferries.
The two ferries will be able to carry twice as many passengers as the current three ship fleet, 300% more rail wagons and almost double the number of trucks and other vehicles.
The new ships will be much more fuel efficient and produce significantly lower CO2 emissions. They will be able to run on battery power at times. KiwiRail is also future proofing the design so new fuel sources can be adopted as they become available.
The RFP process to identify the successful shipyard is expected to be completed before the end of the year.
Interislander to Replace Ferries with Rail-Ready Fleet
Kiwirail has confirmed plans to replace its Interislander fleet with two new larger, rail-enabled ferries.
The new ships will carry more freight, cars and passengers than the current three fleets: KAITAKI, KAIARAHI and ARATERE. At this stage, Interislander will still make up to six sailings a day.