NEW Zealand transport minister Chris Bishop has ditched a plan to acquire an emergency towing vessel for the country and will terminate early an interim contract he signed only in April.
Yesterday’s announcement follows a Maritime Union of New Zealand revelation that the AHTS MMA Vision, which has been under contract to the government as an ETV, will be prematurely stood down, a move the union calls “will leave a gaping hole in NZ’s maritime safety net”.
Mr Bishop said [25 November] the government had decided not to procure dedicated ocean response capabilities for the Cook Strait “after a significant escalation in costs and little clear benefit.
The Government allocated NZ$600,000 in Budget 2024 to Maritime NZ to develop a business case for emergency ocean response capability (EORC), focusing on Cook Strait.
Cabinet considered an Indicative Business Case in November 2024, and a Detailed Business Case in March 2025. The business case proposed procuring (via retainer style contracts) two separate EORC vessels: an EORC vessel based in the Cook Strait that could stabilise a stricken vessel, and a larger EORC vessel that could tow the stricken vessel to a safe harbour (a “two-strike solution”).
“The business case for the EORC noted there have been 23 incidents over the last five years where ready access to EORC may have supported the response. However, all of these incidents were resolved with existing capabilities and vessels of opportunity,” Mr Bishop said.
“Overall, while there is clearly risk in the Cook Strait, the risk is small and does not justify the procurement of dedicated EORC. The identified benefits are only realised in the top 1% of incidents, and only if the EORC solution is based close enough with a short enough activation and travel time to reach the scene of the incident,” the minister said.
“Most of the recorded incidents occurred outside the Cook Strait area, which demonstrates this limitation. The EORC vessel must also be capable enough to provide a successful response to an incident before the situation escalates to a grounding or similar outcome.
“There has also been significant cost escalation for an EORC. The indicative costs to procure the two-strike solution escalated from around $80 million over 10 years at the IBC stage in November 2024, to over $259 million over 10 years at the DBC stage in March 2025.
“While most of these costs were intended to be paid with the establishment of EORC-specific levies, there would still be significant cost pressures on the Crown to procure an EORC solution, and these levies would be passed onto consumers through higher prices.
“Put bluntly, the cost to taxpayers is too high for something that’s unlikely to be needed - and unlikely to be useful even if it is.”
Mr Bishop said the government was procuring two new Cook Strait ferries, due to enter service in 2029, which have additional safety features including power and propulsion, navigation, communications, fire safety, watertight controls, and critical monitoring. This significantly increases the vessels’ abilities to reach a safe port without external assistance, which further reduces the requirement for an emergency ocean response capability, he claimed.
“The MMA Vision was only meant to be a temporary measure until a long-term plan was agreed. Now Cabinet has decided not to proceed with a permanent solution, it’s not commercially viable to keep MMA Vision under the current agreement. The contract will end in February 2026, saving about $9 million.
“While incidents and mechanical issues can never be completely eliminated, emergency offshore response is just one part of keeping vessels safe. It has become clear that the required level of investment to procure towing capabilities is not cost-effective. We cannot justify government procuring these services, nor can we justify passing these costs on to users via new levies.”
MUNZ national secretary Carl Findlay said the current Cook Strait ferries must continue operating for several more years, and their vulnerability has been shown by a number of recent issues.
The MMA Vision had proven its worth in recent months, he said. In September 2025, the MMA Vision successfully towed the stricken oil and chemical tanker Golden Mind to Timaru after the tanker lost steering west of Stewart Island (Rakiura). It also assisted in the Manahau grounding, pulling the barge off a Westport beach and towing it to Tasman Bay.
“If the MMA Vision had not been available, then perhaps the Government can say what would have happened in those cases,” Mr Findlay said, adding that the vessel was also crucial for retaining high-skilled maritime jobs needed for NZ’s maritime future.
“The MMA Vision crew are highly skilled MUNZ members experienced in rugged NZ waters. The skills used in the offshore oil and gas industry are directly transferable to emerging industries like offshore wind. Maintaining our skilled maritime workforce ensures New Zealand has the necessary expertise to move forward,” Mr Findlay said.