The Valentine. Photo: Kiwirail
KiwiRail has revealed it sold its 25-year-old freight-only Interislander ship for more than double what it originally paid for it.
The Valentine was bought for around $9.5 million in September 2022.
The ship was needed to transport freight after the Kaiārahi ferry suffered a major gearbox failure which took it off the Cook Strait for over a year.
Annual review documents for 2023/24 show the Valentine was sold for just over $24m in September last year.
It was the first time the amount KiwiRail sold the vessel for had been revealed, with the company in the past having said it was commercially sensitive but beneficial.
After the sale it subsequently set sail for Greece.
When the news of the ferry being sold off was announced, Interislander general manager of operations Duncan Roy said it was not "operationally practical or commercially viable" to have the Valentine on a regular sailing or to maintain her on standby.
The freight-only ferry was built in Japan in 1999 and could carry both trucks and rail freight.
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