KI ferries close temporarily as ramps upgraded for new vessels

KI ferries close temporarily as ramps upgraded for new vessels

Kangaroo Island's ferry service has shut down for three days as part of preparations for the first of two new vessels to begin operating, with locals describing the wait as "frustrating". The SeaLink service will be closed until Friday, as crews work around the clock to install new boat ramp infrastructure at Cape Jervis, south of Adelaide, and at Penneshaw, on Kangaroo Island, to accommodate the larger ferries. The first new ferry, Wanggami, is expected to be brought into service later this month, while SeaLink has launched legal action in the Federal Court to have the second ferry, Ruwi, delivered to Australia from a shipyard in Indonesia.

Kangaroo Island Regional Tourism manager Megan Harvie said the delays that plagued the arrival of the new vessels were "frustrating". "We need the ferries here to help us to grow the economy for both tourism and agriculture alike," she said. But, she said locals were "excited" by the arrival of Wanggami, which was expected to be carrying passengers before the end of next week.

She said the retirement of the Spirit of Kangaroo Island, which was affectionately known as SPOKI, was "bittersweet" after it had served the island for 22 years. The two new ferries were initially expected to begin service early last year, but last October the company adjusted the start date to June 1 this year. Kangaroo Island electrician Frank Colman, said it had been two or three years "without any real clear idea of what's going on".

"We’ve been getting little updates here and there as far as how the boats are tracking and what’s happening with the ramps either side," he said. "But I feel like a lot of us have been a bit left in the lurch as far as not being able to honour timelines and not a lot of certainty around what's gonna actually happen here on in." He said the three-day shutdown may impact some services, but said locals were "generally pretty considerate when it comes to timelines on things, so I think we’ll be fine". Peter Wallis from Island Earth Works, a company working on the ramp changeover on Kangaroo Island, also said three days without a ferry could be frustrating for some people, but he said most locals were used to coping with periodic stops.

“All in all, I think the sentiment's quite positive that we've just gotta get through this little bit now and get ahead and get with the new ferries and I think all the problems, they'll all go away once it gets going." James Meredith who owns Millie Mae's Pantry on the island said the existing ferries were full of "quirks and personalities" and welcomed the new vessels. Kangaroo Island Mayor Michael Pengilly said it was "imperative to the island that we have the ferries operating, operating well". He said the next three days would be inconvenient for some, particularly because it was "the busiest time of year" for livestock movement, but expected the ferries would quickly return to "business as usual".

"When livestock are ready to go they have to go, you can't keep them. And they've got to be booked into the abattoirs," he said. He said the delays in delivering the new ferries had been "a mess", but it was time to "put that behind us".

According to a statement on the SeaLink website, the planned closure was subject to weather conditions, with limited services expected to resume on Friday, October 23, with SeaLion 2000 the only ferry operating for "an anticipated three to four days". The website states that Wanggami would then begin operating alongside SeaLion 2000 once training, testing and familiarisation has been completed. SeaLink has also been contacted for comment.