New Zealand Inter-Island Ferry Aground

Seems it will resolve safely but still, a problematic vessel.

We recently traveled on the inter island Australian ferry between Victoria and Tasmania crossing the infamous Bass Strait safely on schedule (except for contracting Covid going south). Wonder if it`s a Spanish builder thing, Australia has both its new Spanish built Navy supply vessels out of action, one for over a year, with engine/drive/gearbox issues. The builder is honoring its warranty but meanwhile, no Navy supply vessels.

Good grief. This sort of thing never happened back in the days when I was at med school in Dunedin, and we travelled back to the North Island several times a year, driving all the way, with the car safely stowed on board for the Cook Strait part of the journey. It was very enjoyable and so reliable. What a tale of woe lately though...

It`s been refloated with the help of tugs.
I `ve seen a turn like the one that put it aground called an "uncommanded" maneuver. Sure hope it was!
I`m guessing a "Detention Order" prevents use until the fault is found and fixed.

Sudden, uncommanded rudder movements swiftly brought down two Boeing 737s back in the early 1990s, killing everyone aboard both aircraft. Other 737s experienced the same unexplainable behavior resulting in near disasters and some seriously creeped-out aircrews. It took years for the NTSB to trace the cause to an ephemeral hydraulic failure. It wasn't clear that the issue had been identified and corrected until a few years had passed without any more 737s falling out of the sky. For a while.

It will be interesting to follow the Aratare investigation. Hoping this one turns out to be quick.