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Regular users of the Fullers360 ferry service between Gulf Harbour and Auckland city have faced increasing uncertainty recently as services are delayed, cancelled or replaced with alternatives (mainly buses) often at short notice.
A Facebook page for ferry passengers, which has more than 750 members, has become a long list of posts about cancellations for reasons that include weather, sickness, staff shortages or issues with the ferries themselves.
For its part, Fullers360 has apologised to its customers and said that ongoing staff shortages, primarily related to sickness and industry-wide skills shortages, is behind higher levels of service disruption.
A spokesperson says over the last four weeks, approximately 30 percent of its marine workforce has been impacted by sickness.
“We apologise sincerely to customers who are impacted by service disruptions, but rest assured we are working hard to minimise disruptions and reinstate Gulf Harbour services that have been on hold for some time,” the spokesperson says. “We’re pleased to see that our internal training program continues to feed the pipeline of marine talent at Fullers360 and this year alone just over 25 percent of crew have progressed to higher qualified marine roles.”
Auckland Transport (AT) currently contracts the service to Fullers 360. AT spokesperson Natalie Polley says that Gulf Harbour is the most vulnerable route on the Auckland ferry network to weather, which is compounded by its geographical position and exposure to tides, plus the constraints that result from its operations out of Gulf Harbour Marina.
She says while the new contract agreed between AT and Fullers360 last month puts the service with that company for the next six years, they will be seeking a new operator soon.
“Auckland Transport is planning to go out to the market in the first part of next year for a new ferry operator to provide services for several routes including the Gulf Harbour route, once that six year contract with Fullers 360 ends in 2028.”
The commencement of a new operator on the route is expected to coincide with the provision of new vessels, Polley says, because any new operator must have vessels to be able to operate the service, which will need to be designed and built.
