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Victor Billot: Maritime Union spokesperson on the ballooning costs of maintaining the Interislander ferries
Maintenance on ageing Interislander ferries is seen as a short-term solution by the Maritime Union.
Estimated annual maintenance costs to keep KiwiRail’s three ageing Interislander ferries running could almost double to $65 million by next year, and keeping the ferries afloat will be an “ongoing battle”.
A previous assessment of the fleet’s condition raised concerns about steel corrosion, metal getting weak and cracking, and prohibitive maintenance expenses.
The project to replace the fleet with two mega ferries was left dead in the water in December after overall costs, including new…
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