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What assessment, if any, has been made of the difference in freight and passenger capacity between the vessels ordered under Project iReX and the vessels Kupe and Cook, and what is the estimated effect on Cook Strait capacity over the 30-year life of the assets?

Answered Question 39658 (2026)
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Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

  • What assessment, if any, has been made of the difference in freight and passenger capacity between the vessels ordered under Project iReX and the vessels Kupe and Cook, and what is the estimated effect on Cook Strait capacity over the 30-year life of the assets?

Answered by

Rt Hon Winston Peters

List MP · NZ First · Minister for Rail

Answer

Kupe and Cook will arrive in New Zealand thanks to the no-nonsense ferry replacement programme, while the iReX ferries will never arrive because the previous Government's actions meant their programme was on course to cost $4 billion and had to be cancelled.