Livestock transporters say ferry cancellations and fewer working vessels are hurting their businesses.
Sailings across Cook Strait have been cancelled on Tuesday, due to strong winds and high swells.
Downlands Deer general manager Kris Orange said he relied on ferries up to five times a week to move livestock between the North and South Islands.
“It’s pretty critical we know what’s going on and, with the number of ferries dropping off, it has made it more tricky,” he said.
On Monday, one of his trucks was scheduled to cross Cook Strait with cattle, but the Bluebridge Connemara ferry broke down and the sailing was rescheduled for Tuesday — and then cancelled, due to weather.
This has knock-on effects. After dropping off the stock, he was meant to pick up other animals, which now have to wait longer.
Orange said there was nothing anyone could do about the weather, but there was little flexibility in the system.
Interislander’s working fleet has dropped to a single ferry – Kaiārahi – for the next couple of months.
“We just don’t have the number of ferries to choose from to get loads away, because there’s not as many ferries sailing.
“We have to take what we can get as far as crossing times and, quite often, that doesn’t really match up with what we want to do.”
Unreliable and reduced crossings cost time and money, he said.
Orange explained, if there was a ferry cancellation, paddocks needed to be rented for the animals – or they needed to go back to the farm, if no facilities were available.
“I’d hate to think what it costs in money terms. I mean, there’s drivers’ wages and diesel and things, but it all adds up to a cost and it’s basically dead money for everybody.”
Orange told RNZ he had to hope there were no “blowouts” with current ferries.
“If something catastrophic was to happen to one of those ferries and it was out of action for more than a few days, it would be disastrous for the livestock industry that does rely on shipping stock north and south, both to freezing works and for breeding purposes.”
He said everyone was waiting for newer ferries to join the fleet.
A Kiwirail spokesperson said Interislander was operating a planned one-ship timetable, while Kaitaki underwent scheduled drydock maintenance in Singapore. Kaitaki was due to return to service on September 27.
They said Interislander only cancelled sailings for safety or operational reasons.
The spokesperson said freight was a core part of Interislander’s role.
Bluebridge has been approached for comment.
