Aucklanders might want to check their ferry is running as they return to work, with cruise ships causing significant numbers of delays and cancellations at the super city's harbour.
The busy cruise ship season has seen a spate of sailings affected over summer, with 98 ferries cancelled or delayed in December.
Fourteen were cancelled in the first two weeks of this year.
Auckland Transport's Rachel Cara told Breakfast this morning: "It's been a really busy cruise ship season, our biggest one since before [the] Covid-19 pandemic – so what we are seeing are delays and cancellations when cruise ships are manoeuvring in and around the downtown ferry basin, and that restricts us from being able to run all of our scheduled services.
"There is absolutely regular engagement with the Harbourmaster, our ferry operators, Ports of Auckland, planning well in advance for the cruise ship season. What we have are restricted windows where cruise ships can't move in and around the ferry basin.
"So that gives us protection of our morning and our afternoon commuter peak."
She said the disruptions have been outside those peak times; for example, before 6.30am or at about midday.
"That's when the cruise ships are allowed to move into the basin – and while that activity's happening, our ferries aren't running."
Asked if tourists are being prioritised over Kiwis, Cara said it's a balancing act, repeating that peak commuter times are protected.
"We are adhering to direction that's set by the Harbourmaster in terms of those operating hours," she told Breakfast.
"We're communicating well in advance with our customers when we know that there's going to be movement that will have impact on their ability to travel via ferry.
"We've got open dialogue at the moment with Ports of Auckland around trying to extend those no-movement windows," Cara added.
Asked whether a purpose-built wharf for cruise ships would help, she was supportive.
"Absolutely, we're really supportive of purpose-built infrastructure," she said. "The greatest disruption that we see is when they are using Princes Wharf and that prevents all of our commuter ferries coming in and out of downtown.
"So, absolutely we're supportive of any work that could relocate cruise ships to somewhere else within the Ports area, and that would definitely minimise disruption for our ferry commuters."
SHARE ME