FERRY CANCELLATIONS
Wednesday 30th April (9:40am)
Further to our notice on 28th April, we have since received communication from Bluebridge confirming ferry cancellations, starting today.
The forecast is predicting very strong winds from this afternoon/evening and large swells. There is a very high risk of ships being unable to berth in Picton this evening/tonight due to wind, and the swells will exceed limits tomorrow.
Therefore, the following sailings have been cancelled:
Wednesday 30 April
Wellington to Picton 1:30 pm, 8:30 pm
Picton to Wellington 7:15 pm
Thursday 1 May
Wellington to Picton 2:00 am, 8:15 am, 1:30 pm, 8:30 pm
Picton to Wellington 2:30 am, 7:45 am, 2:00 pm, 7:15 pm
Conditions on Friday are not forecast to improve and further cancellations are highly likely. If so, these will be communicated by Bluebridge later today.
If Friday cancellations occur, ships are likely to restart Saturday morning, and additional sailings will be considered.
The Hall’s operations team have been working through alternative solutions to best mitigate the impact to our customers. This includes planning full schedules over the coming weekend to move as much freight as possible to help get things back on track.
Please note: effective as of today, we will not be able to move or pick up any freight that needs to go across the Cook Strait until at least Friday, subject to weather conditions and the ferry services resuming.
We will update this page with further information.
Thursday 1st May (9:02am)
We have received further communication from Bluebridge advising that forecasts continue to show swells exceeding their operational limits well into Friday afternoon. They have therefore confirmed ferry cancellations on Friday, as follows:
Friday 2 May
Wellington to Picton 2:00 am, 8:15 am, 1:30 pm
Picton to Wellington 2:30 am, 7:45 am, 2:00 pm, 7:15 pm
Based on current forecast, the Connemara may resume sailing at 8:30 pm on Friday, but Bluebridge said it is too early to confirm. Strait Feronia will resume at 1:30 pm on Saturday.
We will continue to update this page with further information.
Friday 2nd May (1:10pm)
We have received further communication from Bluebridge today that there is ongoing uncertainty around weather conditions and while conditions will start easing tonight, forecasts are still indicating high swells accompanied by strong winds.
Unfortunately, the Connemara’s 8:30pm and 2:30am sailings tonight / tomorrow are cancelled.
To assist with the freight backlog, the Strait Feronia will operate two additional round trips from:
Wellington 1:30pm and Picton 7:15pm Saturday
Wellington 2:00am and Picton 7:45am Sunday
Connemara will resume operation at 8:15 am tomorrow and continue her schedule throughout the weekend.