Minister for Rail Winston Peters has announced a “plan” for what he is calling “two new rail ferries” to replace the ailing fleet of three Interislander ferries in 2029.

In a statement, Peters said the ferries will have “road and rail decks” which will load rail freight on and off the ships in “single shunt movements”.

This appears to fit the definition of a “rail-enabled” ferry, which was one of the central conflicts in the debate over the future of the ferry connection that has raged since Finance Minister Nicola Willis declined KiwiRail’s request for additional funding for a previous ferry replacement project, begun by Labour in coalition with NZ First.

02:26 pm

Peters refuses to speculateon upgrade cost

About 26 different entities came forward to provide alternative ideas for the ferry upgrade project. Peters wouldn't detail what the ideas were.

He wouldn't speculate on what the port infrastructure upgrade would cost, claiming it was still being assessed how much of the current infrastructure could be retained.

Peters would not take any questions about his public statements about Green MP Benjamin Doyle, abruptly leaving the podium as journalists began asking questions.

"I'm not going to have you guys breaking the rules of a press conference."

02:21 pm

Shipbuilders contacted

"There have been a massive number of contacts," Peters said in regard to the potential shipbuilders who would be contracted.

"We're not going to waste one dollar of taxpayers' money."

Peters said he was confident in the "co-operation" he would get from port officials in Marlborough and Wellington, as well as leaders in KiwiRail.

02:16 pm

Aratere out during upgrade

The Aratere ferry couldn't continue operating during the upgrade to the port-side infrastructure was being done, Peters acknowledged.

02:13 pm

No Utopia but better and cheaper - Peters

"Let us say this, we will not approach this like Wellington Water," Peters said when commenting on what the overall cost would be.

He again criticised the previous Government's ferry upgrade plan, describing their intentions as wanting to build "Utopia" for an excessive price.

Peters said a number of companies would be bidding on the build project.

Peters believed "not a great deal" of work was needed to upgrade the port-side infrastructure, particularly on the Wellington end, also saying he wanted to use as much of the current infrastructure as possible.

He maintained rail and road-enabled was a critical feature of the new ships. He claimed it was also cheaper.

"We're just about right on the button," Peters said, while claiming the potential cost he advised Cabinet of last year would come to pass under the current plan.

02:09 pm

New terminals not needed yet - Peters

Peters forecasted a time when new terminals would be needed for the ferry service but said that wasn't necessary now.

"They are not needed now and certainly not at your expense now."

"We are focused on what's needed right here and right now."

"We have said yes to affordability and no to extravagance."

02:05 pm

Rail-enabled ferries

"The reason for this is just plain common sense," Peters said forcefully,  while explaining why the new ferries would be rail-enabled.

The road-only ferries that would have been delivered under the previous Government would have cost similar to the price of road and rail-enabled ferries that would be acquired through Peters' plan, he claimed.

"These yards have served us well for decades after decades," Peters said of the current port-side infrastructure.

02:04 pm

New ferries for long term

"New ferries mean we are buying for a full service life of 30 years. We are looking to the long-term."

02:02 pm

Former project a 'cautionary tale'

He described the former iRexferryproject as a "cautionary tale" and should be studied by those wishing to understand how taxpayer money should or shouldn't be spent.

"We're saving the taxpayer billions," he claimed.

"Today we have vindicated the decision of the Minister of Finance to stop the project."

02:01 pm

Ferries questions only - Peters

Peters began the press conference by saying only questions about the ferries announcement would be taken, a nod to Peters' public comments about Green MP Benjamin Doyle.

01:27 pm

The next steps for replacing the Interislander ferries will be revealed by Winston Peters today at 2pm. 

A livestream of Peters' press conference will appear at the top of this article.

That project started life as a $775 million project, according to a 2018 business case to purchase two rail-enabled large ferries and to upgrade the port infrastructure in Wellington and Picton.

Blowouts to the infrastructure side of the project meant that by the time Willis declined a further funding injection, the total cost of the project was about $3 billion.

Peters said the ships the Government was looking for would be “approximately 200m long - longer and wider than the current fleet”, however they would be shorter than the ferries ordered under Labour in 2021.

The size of these ferries was one of the reasons why costs blew out, because they requiredmuch larger portside investment.

Peters said the Government would replace infrastructure in Picton, which was old and needed replacing. The infrastructure in Wellington “has life left in it”, Peters said, “so it will be modified and re-used”.

“Our analysis showed this to be the most cost-effective option, and contrasts sharply with the wanton demolition and extravagant specification under the cancelled project, where they assumed almost all costs would be at the taxpayers’ expense,” Peters said.

Key specifications of the new ferries

• The new ferries will be about 200m in length and 28m wide.

• They will each have capacity for 1500 passengers, and 2.4km of lanes for cars, trucks, and 40 rail wagons.

• They will be designed to ensure they can operate through the Tory Channel, at a speed of 20 knots, and be highly manoeuvrable.

• They will be designed with modern system redundancies and future proofing solutions to reduce carbon emissions.