MV Kaitaki

For other ships with the same name, see Pride of Cherbourg and Isle of Innisfree (disambiguation).

MV Kaitaki is a roll-on/roll-off ferry built in 1995. It previously operated under the names, Isle of Innisfree, then Pride of Cherbourg, Stena Challenger and Challenger. As of 2008, MV Kaitaki was the largest ferry operating the Interislander service between the North and South Islands of New Zealand having taken her latest name in 2007. KiwiRail, the operator of the Interislander service, bought the Kaitaki in 2017.

MV Kaitaki in Wellington Harbour
History
Name	1995–2002: MV Isle of Innisfree 2002–2005: MV Pride of Cherbourg 2005: MV Stena Challenger 2005–2007: MV Challenger 2007 onwards: MV Kaitaki
Owner	Irish Continental Group (1995–2017), KiwiRail (2017–)
Operator	1995–2001: Irish Ferries 2002–2005: P&O Ferries 2005: Stena Line 2005 onwards: KiwiRail
Port of registry	1995–2002: Dublin, Ireland 2002–17: Portsmouth, United Kingdom 2017–present: Wellington, New Zealand
Route	Wellington to Picton (from 2005)
Builder	Van der Giessen de Noord, Rotterdam, Netherlands
Yard number	963
Laid down	3 August 1994
Launched	1 January 1995
In service	23 May 1995
Identification	Call sign: ZMKI IMO number: 9107942 MMSI number: 512445000
Status	In service
Notes	[1]
General characteristics
Type	Roll-on/roll-off ferry
Tonnage	22,365 GT 5,794 DWT
Length	181.6 m (596 ft)
Beam	23.4 m (77 ft)
Draught	5.30 m (17 ft 5 in)
Decks	10
Installed power	4 x Sulzer Type 8 ZAL 40 S 5,760 kW each at 510 rpm
Propulsion	2 propellers 2 bow thrusters
Speed	20.5 knots (38.0 km/h; 23.6 mph)
Capacity	1,350 passengers 132 passenger berths 600 cars 1,780 lane metres
Crew	60
Notes	[2]

History

For other ships with the same name, see MS Isle of Innisfree.

The ship was built at Van der Giessen de Noord shipyard in the Netherlands, and was launched in 1995 as the Isle of Innisfree for the Irish Ferries route between Holyhead and Dublin. Subsequently she served on the Pembroke Dock – Rosslare route between 1997 and 2001.^[1]

In 2002 the Isle of Innisfree was chartered by P&O Portsmouth and was sent to Falmouth in July of that year for refit. She emerged as Pride of Cherbourg, the third ship to carry this name. Pride of Cherbourg entered service in September 2002.

MV Kaitaki under her previous name MV Challenger in Wellington Harbour

Pride of Cherbourg's last crossing for P&O was on 14 January 2005, from Cherbourg to Portsmouth. P&O subchartered her to Stena Roroand she sailed for Gdańsk, where all her exterior P&O branding was removed and she was renamed Stena Challenger. The Stena Challenger sailed on Stena Line's Karlskrona—Gdynia service from February until June 2005.^[1]

After completing her service with Stena Line she was sub-chartered again, to KiwiRail.^[3] Before leaving for New Zealand her name was shortened to Challenger,^[1] with its Māori translation, Kaitaki, also appearing on its bow, being used for marketing purposes (the other two Interislander ferries at the time, Arahura and Aratere, had Māori names). In April 2007 the ship was renamed Kaitaki.^[1] Like the Kaiarahi she is an Interislander ferry without a rail deck for the transport of railway wagons.^[4]

In 2009, it was announced that the initial five-year lease would be extended.^[3] The lease has been renewed again on 16 April 2013 until 2017 with the option to extend another three years afterwards.^[5] In May 2017, KiwiRail purchased the Kaitaki outright from the Irish Continental Group.^[6][7]

Incidents

Over the years the vessel has had a number of incidents.

Overnight on June 20 2013, during a storm, the Kaitaki snapped its moorings at its Wellington Berth and suffered light damage. It remained in the harbour until the next day. ^[8]

On the evening of 28 January 2023, the Kaitaki suffered an incident where she lost power (including propulsion) around 5pm for several hours. However, the ship managed to anchor itself safely, did not encounter any further danger, and power was eventually restored to the vessel later that night.^[9] The Transport Accident Investigation Commission of New Zealand stated that an investigation would be launched, due to the incident's impact on transportation safety and to make recommendations to prevent future incidents.^[10]

On the evening of 9 August 2023, the Kaitaki was exiting Wellington Harbour where she experienced steering issues and was forced to return to berth in Wellington, with a small number of passengers spending the night onboard. ^[11]

By 18 January 2024, Maritime New Zealand had concluded its year-long investigation and filed a charge against KiwiRail for violating the Health and Safety at Work Act. The Maritime Union backed Maritime NZ's investigation and decision to pursue legal action against Kiwi Rail.^[12] On 9 September 2024, KiwiRail agreed to pay a fine of NZ$432,500 to Maritime NZ for exposing passengers to risk when the MV Kaitaki lost power in late January 2024.^[13]

The Kaitaki features vehicle loading doors at the bow and the stern, allowing vehicles to drive on and off without reversing. In August 2023 the bow door was damaged by rough seas.^[14]