Been to Norway? Unfortunately, I haven’t. However, my interest in the country was piqued as I put Grant Schofield’s latest series of global trucking snapshots through production when compiling this issue. Grant, you’d have surmised, compiled a series of truck photos from Norway, one of which was a particularly intriguing shot of a Scania exiting a vehicle ferry.

Given New Zealand’s ongoing inter-island ferry crossing woes, this image naturally sent me down a rabbit hole of research into Norway’s ferry system to see how it, as an example, compares with our own.

As Grant notes, the country is heavily dependent on ferries to shorten journey times along its rugged coastline and bridge its many fjords and islands. Numbers vary but there appear to have been roughly 10 different ferry operators, about 180 ferries on more than 100 routes and an additional 11 ferry connections to and from neighbouring countries.

And, yes, Norway’s ferry services have indeed had mishaps and incidents over the years, though seemingly nothing approaching the frequency New Zealanders are becoming used to.

The services have been in place with government support since 1893 and are operated by private companies. Some of the ferries in operation date back to the 1960s, but the most modern vessels that took to the water in the past half-decade or so use alternative propulsion, including battery electric and hydrogen fuel cells. This year, one vessel operator ordered two of the world’s largest hydrogen-powered ships, and set the ball rolling for autonomous systems that will allow auto-crossing, auto-docking, collision avoidance and situational awareness for self-sailing vehicle ferries on one of its routes.

Autonomous, self-sailing ferries – imagine jumping on one of those to cross the Cook Strait … Actually, it’s funny how things happen sometimes. Winding back a couple of weeks, within days of our July 2024 issue going to print, news broke of Interislander’s Aratere ferry running aground. I wrote in that issue’s editorial of my disappointment at the lack of some form of funding – not even a mention – in support of Interislander in the 2024 Budget. I suppose, as coincidental as it may have seemed, one can’t say it was unexpected. It was only a matter of time before another ferry ‘incident’ surfaced – for lack of a better phrase.

I happened to cross the Strait a week later, and in the Marlborough Sounds, there she sat: Aratere moored in the middle of the water, passengers on our ferry snapping away with smartphone cameras, pointing, commenting. What a sorry situation.

In the weeks since, reports of leaked documents ‘showing a crew member accidentally triggered the autopilot into the wrong course’ surfaced, followed by reports of the crew disputing this. And as I write, the New Zealand Herald reported the Aratere would return to regular service by the end of July.

Moreover, the KiwiRail board has been decimated by a raft of resignations amid threats by Finance Minister Nicola Willis of a board refresh. Perhaps that will have positive outcomes, as perhaps will the appointment of Interislander operations general manager Duncan Roy to KiwiRail’s executive team. Now Interislander executive general manager, Duncan’s appointment is said to “recognise the importance of the role of the Interislander in the organisation”.

The cynic might read that as Interislander having been the poor cousin in the KiwiRail family …

Regardless, with a CV that includes senior positions in the New Zealand Army and wider New Zealand Defence Force, Duncan may be the man to right the distressed ferry operation. As we’ve heard from within Waka Kotahi, though, while the desire might be there, it all comes down to the level of governmental support.