6 Nov 2014

No word on whether Arahura will sail

8:26 pm on 6 November 2014

KiwiRail does not yet know if Interislander ferry Arahura will be able to sail again tomorrow, after its crew had to shut down the ship's power as it berthed in Wellington today.

Both the ship's anchors were deployed immediately after the power loss about 9.45am, and two tugboats were used to hold the ship until it was able to berth safety and the 61 passengers had disembark.

The ship's two scheduled departures from Wellington today were cancelled, and passengers and freight transferred to other services.

A spokesperson said they were waiting on a report on whether the ship would be safe to sail tomorrow and, if not, passengers would be moved to other ferries.

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