(file image) Photo: RNZ / Richard Tindiller
A Bluebridge ferry passenger says people were plunged into darkness when a ship briefly lost power coming into Wellington Harbour on Saturday afternoon.
Wellington Harbourmaster Grant Nalder said the ferry had a problem on board which caused it to lose power about 4.45pm.
"They passed that on, assistance was called, there was a tug heading out towards them. They actually resolved it themselves, got power on, carried on up towards the berth and used the tug as a precaution getting into the berth," he said.
"They [Bluebridge] are now looking into it themselves to assess what happened and why it happened."
A passenger on board told RNZ the ferry gave a "great shudder" and stopped, and all the lights went off.
They said passengers were told the ferry had lost control of the engine, and it was resolved after about 10 minutes.
In a statement, StraitNZ Bluebridge spokesperson Will Dady confirmed the Strait Feronia ship briefly lost power in Wellington Harbour, before being restarted minutes later and continuing on to port.
Dady said the power outage was caused by a minor electrical fault which had since been resolved.
The Harbourmaster requested a tug to accompany the ship in to berth as a precaution, which was standard procedure, he said.
