Passenger Ship Website
-
www.simplonpc.co.uk
-
Simplon Postcards Home
-
Recent Updates
-
Search
-
Copyright Information
-
Contact Simplon
This website has no connection with any shipping company, cruise line, boat operator or other commercial organisation
Interislander
New Zealand Railways - Searail - Tranz Rail - Interislander
This page is devoted to postcards and photographs of New Zealand operator Interislander, previously New Zealand Railways and Tranz Rail.
An alphabetical list of ships
shown on this page is shown below.
The Table
beneath gives links to complete history pages on selected individual ships. Below the table is a
Fleet List
in chronological order.
Brief History of New Zealand Rail Ferries:-
The passenger service connecting Wellington and Picton dates back to 1875 and was for many years operated by the famous Union Steamship Company of New Zealand Limited. A new page will be created later to cover the ships of this company. The weekly service was initially operated by the identical 462 ton
Hawea
and
Taupo
. The company's last ship on the run was the 400 passenger
Tamahine
which ran on the route from 1925 until her withdrawal in 1962.
A 350 kilometre (219 miles) passenger rail service between the port at Picton and the island's principal city of Christchurch was inaugurated in 1945 and revamped as the Coastal Pacific in the mid 1990s. When the Union Company announced in 1956 that the
Tamahine
was to be withdrawn in 1962 and not likely to be replaced (in spite of an offer from the government of a $3 million loan) the New Zealand Government decided that the service would be taken over by the Railways Department and an order was placed for a new ship for the service.
For the first century, the treacherous Cook Strait divided the country's railway system into virtually two independent and unconnected services. As early as 1862 there was a proposal to link Bluff in the far South of the South Island to the Bay of Islands at the top of the North Island, with steamers spanning Cook's volatile strait. However things have a tendency to move at a slower pace down-under and it was not until a century later, in August 1962, that the first roll-on roll-off rail and vehicle ferry
Aramoana
was put into service. In her first year of service the new vessel carried 207,000 passengers, 46,000 cars and 181,000 tons of freight. The trade grew and soon a second ship was delivered for the service. This time the builders were Vickers and from their Newcastle yard came the similar, but slightly larger,
Aranui
. These first two ferries were managed and staffed by the Union Company until 1971.
By the end of the 1960s the conventional cargo services on the New Zealand coast were disappearing and the trade was increasingly being handled by ro-ro ships. New Zealand Railways were also actively promoting the carriage of freight by rail wagon and utilising one wagon for the entire journey across Cook Strait by the rail ferries. The freight side of the business grew and in 1972 the first freight ferry,
Arahanga
, was delivered by Upper Clyde Shipbuilders. She was the first of the ferries to be manned by New Zealand Railways staff. Two years later the French yard Dubigeon-Normandie delivered a second freight ferry, named
Aratika
.
When the Union Company announced that the other major passenger service between the two islands was to be terminated in 1976, the Railways board decided that the most expedient method of meeting this development was to convert one of the freight ferries into a full passenger configuration and upgrade the two older passenger ships. The ship chosen for rebuilding was the newer of the two freight ferries,
Aratika
, and in early 1976 she sailed for Hong Kong where she was rebuilt as a passenger ferry by the Hong Kong United Dockyard. The older
Aramoana
was upgraded at Sembawang Shipyard in Singapore, while
Aranui
was modified locally.
The service continued to operate successfully until it became obvious that the older ferries were approaching the end of their economic lives on the service and that a new vessel would be required to replace them. The Aalborg Shipyard in Denmark delivered the new
Arahura
in 1983. Following the new vessel's successful entry into service, the older
Aramoana
and
Aranui
were laid up and disposed of by 1985. The shipping service was marketed as Searail from around this time.
As a part of a total upgrading of all divisions of the New Zealand Railways in 1989, the ferries were given major overhauls which included upgrading of passenger facilities and the re-designation of the service as a 'ferry cruise'. The catering facilities were extensively improved, as were the general passenger amenities. To go with the new image, a striking new colour scheme was introduced replacing the former green hulls and yellow, red and black colours on the funnels. In their place was an all white scheme with blue and green stripes at the top of the hull and a green, blue and white funnel design incorporating the dolphin 'Pelorus Jack' (this dolphin was a famous sight for many years in the Marlborough Sounds). New Zealand railways were privatised in 1993, being purchased by Wisconsin Central Transportation of the USA. The railways were rebranded as Tranz Rail, and the ships were marketed as "Interislander".
In 2005 Interislander offered daily ferry services across Cook Strait, providing a link between New Zealand's North and South Islands for passengers and their vehicles, commercials vehicles and rail freight. Their 2005 fleet consisted of four vessels - three multi-purpose conventional vessels (
Arahura
,
Aratere
and
Kaitaki
), and one conventional freight only vessel,
Purbeck
(charter of the latter finished in August 2005).
The three conventional ferries (
Arahura
,
Aratere
and
Kaitaki
) take three hours to cruise across Cook Strait. Each cater to Interislander's main markets: passenger and vehicle travel, commercial vehicles and rail. Each year Interislander vessels accommodate over 1 million passengers and 230,000 domestic vehicles. They sell almost 2 million lane metres of road and rail freight and run 5,700 sailings. In total, Interislander employs 567 full time staff. 68 work in the Head Office environment, 98 at the terminals, and 401 onboard the ships themselves. Ship crew is made up of 67 officers, 62 engineers, 175 onboard services crew and 97 deck crew. Interislander is a part of the Toll Group - the leading provider of integrated transport and logistics services throughout Australia and New Zealand. Interislander reports directly to Toll Shipping in Melbourne, Australia.
Ships on This Page:-
Aramoana
(1962-1984)
Aranui
(1965-1984)
Arahanga
(1972-2001)
Aratika
(1974-1999)
Arahura
(1983- )
Aratere
(1998- )
Kaitaki
(2005- )
Purbeck
(2003-2005)
Fast Ferries on This Page:-
Condor 10
(1994,1995,1996,1997,1998)
- as
The Lynx (1)
Condor Vitesse
(1999-2000)
- as
The Lynx (2)
The Lynx (3)
(2000-2003)
Incat 046
(2003-2005)
- as
The Lynx (4)
Associated Pages:-
Interislander
-
www.interislander.co.nz
New Zealand Maritime Record
-
www.nzmaritime.co.nz
Ferry Postcards
Cruise Ship Postcards
Ocean Liner Postcards
Simplon Postcards
-
Recent Updates
Simplon Postcards
-
Home Page
Search This Website:-
powered by
FreeFind
Table of Ship Histories
Name
Other names
Built
Kaitaki
Isle of Innisfree, Pride of Cherbourg, Stena Challenger
1995
Interislander Fleet List
Aramoana
(1962-1984)
3,968 gross tons - 112.2 m long - 800 passengers - 90 cars
Aramoana
was built in 1962 by William Denny & Brothers Ltd, Dumbarton for New Zealand Railways, Wellington. She was used on their Cook Strait service between Wellington and Picton, carrying passengers, cars and railway wagons.
Aramoana
was withdrawn in 1983, and served as
Captain Nicolas V
,
Najd II
and
Niaxco III
as a pilgrim ship in the Indian Ocean and Middle East. She was scrapped in 1994.
New Zealand Railways postcard of
Aramoana
in original livery.
New Zealand Railways postcard of
Aramoana
with "Searail" funnel logo.
New Zealand Railways postcard of
Aramoana
with "Searail" funnel logo.
New Zealand Railways postcard of
Aramoana
with "Searail" funnel logo.
Multi-view New Zealand Railways postcard with
Aramoana
bottom left.
Scan: Cees de Bijl.
Aranui
(1965-1984)
3,821 gross tons - 112.2 m long - 800 passengers - 113 cars
Aranui
was built in 1965 by Vickers Ltd, Newcastle for New Zealand Railways, Wellington, for their Cook Strait service between Wellington and Picton. She was used on their Cook Strait service between Wellington and Picton, carrying passengers, cars and railway wagons.
Aranui
was withdrawn in June 1986 and later served as
Aranui I, Nui
and
Njad III
as a pilgrim ship in the Indian Ocean and Middle East. She was scrapped in 1994.
New Zealand Railways postcard of
Aranui
in original livery.
New Zealand Railways postcard of
Aranui
with "Searail" funnel logo.
New Zealand Railways postcard of
Aranui
with "Searail" funnel logo.
New Zealand Railways postcard of
Aranui
with "Searail" funnel logo.
New Zealand Railways postcard of
Aranui
with "Searail" funnel logo.
New Zealand Railways postcard of
Aranui
with "Searail" funnel logo.
Postcard of
Aranui
with "Searail" funnel logo.
Scan: Cees de Bijl.
Arahanga
(1972-2001)
3,914 gross tons - 127.5 m long - 36 passengers - 50 railway wagons
Arahanga
was ordered in 1970 from Upper Clyde Shipbuilders. The yard went into liquidation during construction, although continuation of the work was allowed. Delivery was delayed until November 1972.
Arahanga
was the fist of two freight ferries, the second being the
Aratika
. Unlike her consort, she was not rebuilt as a passenger ferry.
Arahanga
was withdrawn and scrapped in 2001.
New Zealand Railways postcard of
Arahanga
with "Searail" funnel logo.
Scan: Cees de Bijl.
Postcard of
Arahanga
with "Searail" funnel logo.
Scan: Cees de Bijl.
Multi-view New Zealand Railways postcard with
Arahanga
on the right.
Scan: Cees de Bijl.
Aratika
(1974-1999)
3,879 gross tons (later 9,035) - 127.7 m long - 10 passengers (later 800) - 50 railway wagons
Aratika
was built in 1970 by Dubigeon Normandie S.A, Nantes, the second of two freight ferries delivered to New Zealand Railways. The withdrawal of the Union SS Co from the route prompted the early rebuilding of
Aratika
into a passenger ferry, returning to service in December 1976. She was withdrawn and sold in 1999, becoming the
Virgin Mary
.
Multi-view New Zealand Railways postcard with
Aratika
top left.
Scan: Cees de Bijl.
New Zealand Railways postcard of
Aratika.
New Zealand Railways postcard of
Aratika.
Interislander postcard of
Aratika
, plus enlarged image of the ships.
Interislander postcard of
Aratika
, plus enlarged image of the ships.
Interislander postcard of
Arahura
and
Aratika
(behind), plus enlarged image of the ships.
Arahura
(1983- )
13,621 gross tons - 148.4 m long - 1085 passengers - 100 cars - 60 railway wagons
Arahura
was built in 1983 by Aalborgs Værft, Ålborg, Denmark, and replaced the two earlier ferries
Aramoana
and
Aranui
. She passed to Tranz Rail Interisland Line in 1996.
Arahura
received a major refit in 2004, and remained in service in 2005.
New Zealand Railways postcard of
Arahura.
New Zealand Railways postcard of
Arahura.
New Zealand Railways postcard of
Arahura.
New Zealand Railways postcard of
Arahura.
New Zealand Railways 1984 timetable front featuring the new
Arahura.
Click on the image to see a larger version.
New Zealand Railways 1984 timetable back featuring the new
Arahura.
Click on the image to see a larger version.
Interislander postcard of
Arahura
, plus enlarged image of the ship.
Interislander postcard of
Arahura
, plus enlarged image of the ship.
Interislander postcard of
Arahura
, plus enlarged image of the ship.
Interislander postcard of
Arahura
, plus enlarged image of the ship.