An inter-island ferry route from Picton to Clifford Bay has been an idea for almost a century

Source: Radio New Zealand

It’s an idea that’s endured almost a century.

Since at least 1931 moving the South Island inter-island ferry port from Picton to Clifford Bay has been periodically floated and rejected.

The latest bid – dubbed the North South Express – has been submitted to the government’s investment agency and comes more than a decade after the previous bid was quashed.

For its proponents, the advantages of Clifford Bay are clear – its location offers a more direct, and faster run between the North and South Islands.

So far, the government’s dismissed the proposal and last week a large upgrade began at Picton’s wharf, ahead of the arrival of new Interislander ferries in 2029.

What’s the proposal?

CB Port Limited – the company behind an iwi and construction consortium promoting the North South Express – is seeking a public-private partnership for a multi-use ferry terminal at Clifford Bay.

The port would be privately funded at an estimated cost of $900 million, but the groups wants Crown money and cooperation for the necessary connecting road and rail infrastructure.

CB Port spokesperson Stephen Grice said the advantages of Clifford Bay, which sits on flat land 44km south of Blenheim, were clear.

“It’s a much faster voyage time of two hours sailing, as opposed to three-and-a-half on the journey to Picton. That means a faster transit for passengers and more efficient logistics.”

He said the shorter crossing – 74km between Wellington and Clifford Bay, compared to 104km to Picton – would enable more sailings and therefore quicker recovery from schedule disruptions.

With new ferries on the horizon in 2029, he believed the time had come to pull the trigger on the project.

“We want all of the desirable things of a first-world economy and growth and Clifford Bay offers that as new infrastructure.

“The geographic advantages of it completely outweigh continuing to pour money into infrastructure at Picton when it’s so geographically constrained.”

Although initially sceptical, Kaikōura and National Party MP, Stuart Smith has become a vocal backer of the idea, maintaining a new port at Clifford Bay was preferable to upgrading Picton.

“One is private capital – no cost to the taxpayer – and the other one is cost to the taxpayer and the ratepayers of Marlborough.”

However, instead the government has committed to upgrades at both Wellington and Picton ports, with contracts for the work expected to be finalised mid-year.

The redevelopment in Picton is currently estimated at $531m, of which $110m is to be contributed by Port Marlborough, a subsidiary of the Marlborough District Council.

The contingency for the entire project, which includes Wellington port upgrades, is $415m.

Seafarers get behind idea

Retired long-time Interislander captain John Brown said he’s been convinced of the superiority of Clifford Bay as a southern port for decades.

In the 90s, ahead of Tranz Rail’s resource consent application for the port – ultimately granted on appeal in 1999 – Brown took the Interislander ferry Arahura on an overnight run, leaving Wellington around 1am.

He said the ship arrived in Clifford Bay around 2-2.5 hours later.

“It was dark and I thought we’d just hang around until it gets daylight. The sun came up around four-thirty, quarter-to-five. We waited about half-an-hour and then I said, ‘Well, we better get back,’ because we had to do the 9.30am normal sailing.

“Not many people knew we ever went.”

The trip was smooth sailing, he said, “everything just went like magic”.

Brown said berthing in Picton “could be a handful” and the route through the Sounds was vulnerable to bad weather, sometimes forcing ships to take a longer detour via Queen Charlotte Sound (the northern entrance).

The issue of Clifford Bay’s suitability in bad weather has been dismissed by shipping expert Per Rold.

The Marlborough-based Dane, who was involved in the operation of three Danish ferry lines, said unlike some ports in Denmark – built on the open West Coast of the North Atlantic, “infamous for severe winter storms” – Clifford Bay was naturally sheltered from southerly swells by Cape Campbell to the south and was also a candidate for a breakwater.

However, Rold said Clifford Bay’s proximity to Wellington was its main advantage as an alternative port to Picton, and in his experience of Denmark’s competing domestic routes, “the shortest route always wins”.

Strait NZ Bluebridge declined to comment on the Clifford Bay bid, while a spokesperson for KiwiRail provided the following statement: “KiwiRail’s role is providing a safe and reliable service for [Interislander] passengers and freight across Cook Strait using our existing ships and to play our part in bringing the new ferries into service in 2029.”

Government not convinced

Smith was confident that if the Clifford Bay promoters built the port, the ships would come, but understood why a contract with KiwiRail was desired first.

Grice said a partnership with the Crown was imperative.

The Rail Minister’s office said Winston Peters met with the consortium last year, but the government has chosen to stay with Picton.

A spokesperson said although Clifford Bay was backed by private money, ultimately the cost would be shouldered by consumers.

“The Interislander is a commercial business where the cost of infrastructure ties back to the costs freighters and families pay.

“North South Express estimate their project will cost $900 million, while our works in Picton will cost just over $500 million.

“The higher the cost of infrastructure, including by private investors expecting a return, the more expensive the Interislander ticket.”

Grice has pushed back on those claims, saying the cost of Picton’s upgrades are also expected to be recovered will need to be funded through increased ticket costs, but without the efficiency gain of Clifford Bay.

In response to questions from RNZ, Marlborough mayor Nadine Taylor said the council was focussed on supporting the government’s ferry replacement and port redevelopment project.

“With the government’s commitment to provide two new ferries to serve road and rail for Cook Strait by 2029 confirmed, the Marlborough District Council has not undertaken any analysis of any other proposal and none is planned.”

She said once commercial details were finalised, the council would consult with ratepayers on the up to $110m loan to be obtained on behalf of Port Marlborough, to fund its portion of the upgrades.

In statement on 13 January, Port Marlborough chief executive Rhys Welbourn heralded the start of demolition on Picton’s old wharf.

He said as the gateway between the North and South Islands, Picton was grounded in geography, history and function, and that its redevelopment built on generations of investment and experience.

“The money spent here is not only for national benefit – it also circulates through Marlborough, supports local jobs and capability, and ultimately delivers returns to ratepayers.

“That is a very different outcome to infrastructure designed to serve private interests.

“With work now underway, there is no ambiguity about where the future of inter-island connectivity is being delivered.”

Grice, however, held out hope – claiming ambiguity would remain until Picton’s upgrades had final contracts and costings.

Ultimately, he said Clifford Bay was the future, it was just a case of when.

“Clifford Bay will happen in the economic lifetime of this country. It just has to happen. And we’re at this inflection point, so it just seems a wasted opportunity to not make it happen now and achieve the benefits.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand