Failed ferry leaves islanders SeaSick
and tired of endless delays to new service

By DANIEL CLARKE

17/08/26

Kangaroo Islanders are “absolutely sick” of SeaLink’s ongoing delays to the start of its new ferry service, and the company's scheduling of a shutdown midweek in October is “inexcusable” for farmers, Mayor Michael Pengilly said.

 

The comments come after the company yesterday revealed - amid widespread outrage from residents and business operators - a further two-month delay to the start of its new service because the second new ferry Ruwi failed its sea trials in Indonesia.

 

It now means the three-day service shutdown to upgrade port infrastructure at Penneshaw and Cape Jervis to accommodate the new ferries will occur in the busy Spring tourist and livestock season, a move labelled by Mayor Pengilly as a “massive cock-up”.

 

Hundreds of hospitality and tour bookings across the island had already been cancelled or rescheduled for the planned September 1-3 shutdown announced by the company in late May.

 

Given SeaLink's history of broken promises since 2024, tourism operators who have lost tens of thousands in combined revenue now question how they can trust the company’s plan to deliver on the newly selected shutdown time slot of October 20-22. 

 

Farmers are equally concerned they will lose vital booking times to transport sheep to mainland abattoirs during a “chockablock” period in which about 200,000 thousand head of stock make the journey. 

 

SeaLink said both its new vessels Ruwi and Wanggami would start service on the new timetable in November but a date was not stipulated in the statement and it remains unclear when, or if, Ruwi will pass its sea trial tests. 

 

“We’re absolutely sick of this now,” Mayor Pengilly said. “I am fed up with Kangaroo Island residents being completely confused and messed around by statements which amount to nothing.

 

“I’ve been fairly philosophical about it up until now but they’ve made a massive cock-up. 

 

“The hyperbole over the last two or three years of when and what’s going to happen has just been so much nonsense and everybody’s over it and here we go again.”

 

In the statement on its website, SeaLink said that during harbour commissioning and final testing of the fire deluge systems on Ruwi, “a temporary pipe used for testing purposes only failed, resulting in a discharge of water onto electrical components”.

 

“The temporary pipe is not part of the vessel’s systems,” the statement said. “As a precaution, the affected electrical components have been replaced. This has delayed Ruwi’s final sea trials before she can commence her voyage to South Australia.”

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SeaLink’s promised deadlines for the new service over the past two years have become so numerous it has been hard for locals to keep track.

 

After an initial announcement that new ferries would arrive in 2024, the service start date was rescheduled to 2025 before the company announced in October that the build of Ruwi in an Indonesian shipyard had been delayed, nominating June 1 of this year as its new launch date. 

 

The company then waited until within 12 days of the start of the new timetable before informing the public that the June 1 deadline would not be met, forcing a second round of mass booking changes by its weary staff. 

 

In late May, SeaLink announced the September 23 start date, with Transport Minister Joe Szakacs saying at the time that “we now have clarity as to when we can expect these services to start".

 

SeaLink has escaped any punishment from the State Government for its ongoing delays apart from the removal of a mooted livestock freight cost increase that had yet to be implemented. 

 

Minister Szakacs and Member for Mawson Jenni Mitton travelled to the island to make the announcement of the freight cost "cut" in May, saying that the State Government “remains committed to holding the operator to account in its obligations to the people and businesses of Kangaroo Island who rely on this crucial service.”

 

“When it comes to the KI ferry service, the people of the island and their businesses will always be number one for our government, and this outcome demonstrates that,” Minister Szakacs said.

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The Minister and SA Premier Peter Malinauskas were conspicuous absentees at last month's glittery "launch event" of SeaLink's first new ferry Wanggami, which has been tied to a Port Adelaide wharf since arriving from Indonesia in early April. 

 

Mayor Pengilly said he had asked SeaLink to schedule the new three-day shutdown dates over a weekend to avoid lost days for farmers to transport lamb and mutton over the busy livestock moving period.

 

When informed yesterday that SeaLink had announced the shutdown would be carried out from a Tuesday to Thursday in late October, he said “that is inexcusable”.

 

“They’re not listening,” he said. “Stock has got to be booked in. Doing this changeover work on a weekend may interrupt locals but I think for the sake of keeping the economy going it is the best way out of it. 

 

“This has just been confusing for everybody. It keeps on being confusing and it’s not good enough.”

 

AGKI Chair Peter Cooper said he was equally disappointed with the communication from the company and agreed with the Mayor that a weekend shutdown would reduce the pain for farmers. 

 

“Stock will be booked weeks in advance into kills slots in the abattoirs on the mainland and so it’s going to put that three to five day disruption right inside a key livestock moving period. We’re going to lose all those days of freight,” Cooper said.

 

“It’s going to be compounding for all industries that rely on that ferry service. They’ve obviously known this is the case for some time now that they wouldn’t meet the deadline but there’s been no communication and that’s what we’ve found frustrating through the whole experience. 

 

“They’re not meeting their deadlines and they’re not communicating it. It’s a double whammy for us.”

 

The Kangaroo Island Tourism Alliance (KITA) said it recognised “that this change in dates may create further operational challenges for businesses”. 

 

“There has already been a significant impact for some businesses which we knew needed to happen, and they are likely to be hit with another one due to cancellations and poorly planned alternative access for the island. Who covers that loss?” KITA’s Regional Tourism Manager Megan Harvie said.

 

“Last week was a prime example how that lack of planning played out with higher Qantas flight prices because of full planes. 

 

“For this reason, it is important that (tourism) operators move any known passenger demand onto flights as early as possible. This will give Qantas better visibility of demand for the October shutdown period and allow earlier consideration of whether additional capacity may be required.

 

“KITA will continue working with Qantas and the State Government on air access during this period. Having a clearer picture of demand as early as possible will also strengthen our ability to advocate for additional services where needed.”