Ownership of Interislander ferry service remains undecided

Winston Peters after a prior hearing at Parliament. (Image: NZME)

Mon, 01 Dec 2025

The ultimate owner and operator of the new Interislander ferries due to arrive in 2029 remains undecided, Rail Minister Winston Peters has confirmed.Peters appeared before Parliament’s transport and infrastructure committee on Monday afternoon with officials from Crown-owned Ferry Holdings, which is procuring the new Cook Strait ferries, and KiwiRail, which has operated the vessels in years past.Asked whether the Crown would own the ships and who might operate them, Peters said: “That’s a question for tomorrow”.Speaking...

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