1 May 2025

Inter-Island Ferry Disruption

Due to predicted large swells and rough seas in the Cook Strait we have been advised that ferry sailings may be impacted between Wednesday 30 April to Saturday 3 May 2025 resulting in potential delays for freight moving between the islands by 2 - 3 Days.

As a result of the ferry cancellations, we’ve compiled the latest updates from our carrier partners to help you understand what’s happening across the network. Please read below for specific information from each provider and our advice on how best to manage your inter-island freight this week.

Freightways (Post Haste & Castle Parcels)

Freightways has confirmed they are not collecting any Two Day inter-island freight.

• Their depots do not have the space or equipment to store additional freight.

• Airfreight can be used as an alternative, but capacity is limited and overnight delivery is not guaranteed.

• Any 2-day freight already collected will be held and moved once ferries resume.

• A backlog is expected once services restart, and additional delays are likely despite extra resources being brought in.

TGE

TGE has advised that, at this stage, they are still collecting 2-day inter-island freight.

• We are awaiting further updates and will share them as soon as they become available.

NZ Post

NZ Post has confirmed that all collections will still happen.

• Economy Inter-Island freight will be held until ferry services resume.

Bascik

• Bascik have requested that where possible customers hold their inter island freight until Monday as they do not have the capacity to hold freight.
• Freight sent Tuesday or later is now delayed.

• South Island to Auckland freight sent Monday is running on time, but Tuesday onwards will be impacted.

PBT

PBT has confirmed that no inter-island freight will travel until at the earliest Friday night. At this stage, all consignments will continue to be collected..

• They will provide further updates as more information becomes available.

Summary of Information

• Freightways (Post Haste & Castle Parcels) will not collect any Two Day inter-island freight between now and Friday (inclusive) but other carriers seem to be still picking up freight. 

• The ferry cancellations will affect all carriers, even those not listed above.
• If your courier freight needs to move between islands this week it can move via overnight air freight, but this service will be at capacity and is not guaranteed.
• This will impact delivery standards over the next week as the carriers work through the backlog of freight caused by these ferry cancellations.

Our advice:

• If freight is not urgent, please hold it at your site until early next week. This helps prevent items from getting lost in the backlog.

• If your freight is urgent, we recommend using the Between Island Overnight airfreight option – this must be selected at the time of booking.

  • • If you can’t see this option in WebNotes, please contact our team at solutions@zend.co.nz.

    • Please note: This service will be at full capacity and may not achieve overnight delivery. No credits will be issued if delivery is delayed.

We’ll continue to keep you updated as the situation evolves. Thanks for your patience and for working with us to manage through this disruption.

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