Interislander repairs affect thousands of travellers

Sailing times for up to 10,000 summer holiday travellers are being changed because of Cook Strait ferry cancellations. This follows a series of mechanical breakdowns on the Interislander ships. KiwiRail said this was because the ferry Kaiarahi needs its gearbox repaired, which will not happen till later next year. It had booked 10,500 people on Kaiarahi for December and January, hoping to get the ferry back in service earlier but now cannot. ‘‘It has been a big logistical undertaking to reschedule passengers to new sailings as close as reasonably possible to their original bookings,’’ the executive general manager of the Interislander, Walter Rushbrook, said. ‘‘At no stage did KiwiRail take bookings for sailings it knew Kaiarahi would not be making.’’ – RNZ