StraitNZ (formerly Strait Shipping Limited and Bluebridge) is a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

transport firm that operates

roll-on/roll-off Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or using ...

freight and passenger shipping across the

Cook Strait Cook Strait ( mi, Te Moana-o-Raukawa) separates the North and South Islands of New Zealand. The strait connects the Tasman Sea on the northwest with the South Pacific Ocean on the southeast. It is wide at its narrowest point,McLintock, A H, ...

, between

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

in the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

and Picton in the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

, as well as trucking and logistics services across New Zealand. Originally a freight-only service, passenger services commenced in 2002 and currently operate under the Bluebridge brand. As of 2021, Bluebridge holds 56% of the market for vehicle freight and 31% of the market for passenger services across Cook Strait. The company was acquired on March 31, 2022 by

Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment management and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in more than 41 countries and more than 75,000 employees, the fir ...

Infrastructure Partners.

History

The company has its origins in Otorohanga Transport, founded by Jim Barker and Dennis Dow in 1963. Inter-island ferry operations began in 1992 as Strait Shipping Limited, as a way for Barker to provide more affordable inter-island ferry services for his trucking group. Ferries between the North and South Islands of New Zealand were then monopolised by the

Interisland Line Interislander is a road and rail ferry service across New Zealand's Cook Strait, between Wellington in the North Island and Picton in the South Island. It is owned and operated by state-owned rail operator KiwiRail. Three roll-on roll-off (R ...

, owned by the then state-owned enterprise New Zealand Rail Limited (renamed Tranz Rail in 1995). As of 2022, the two companies still hold a duopoly on interisland ferry services. As well as operating across the

between Wellington and Picton, Strait Shipping has in the past also operated freight shipping between Wellington and Napier, also in the North Island, and

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

and Lyttelton in the South Island. Bluebridge was launched as the passenger service brand of Strait Shipping in 2003. In 2016, Strait Shipping was sold to Australian-based Champ Private Equity Group. At the same time, Champ Group also purchased trucking companies Freight Lines and Streamline Freight, which had both been separately owned by the Barker family. At the time, the trucking and ferry companies owned by the Barker family were estimated to employ around 750 people. On 29 March 2018 Strait Shipping Limited was renamed StraitNZ, with passenger services continuing to operate under the Bluebridge brand. Sister companies Freight Lines and Streamline were rebranded as "StraitNZ Linehaul" and "StraitNZ Freight Forwarding" respectively. That year, a 25% stake in the company was acquired by

Macquarie Macquarie may refer to: People * Lachlan Macquarie, Governor of the British colony of New South Wales from 1810 to 1821. * Elizabeth Macquarie Campbell, Lachlan Macquarie's second wife Locations * Division of Macquarie, an electoral district in th ...

. In December 2021, the StraitNZ Group was sold by Champ Private Equity and Macquarie to Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners, for a reported sale price of NZ$500 million. The acquisition was completed in March 2022. As of 2021, StraitNZ’s Bluebridge ferry unit was reported to have a 56% market share for

vehicle freight, and a 31% market share for passenger services. The remaining share is held by

Interislander Interislander is a road and rail ferry service across New Zealand's Cook Strait, between Wellington in the North Island and Picton in the South Island. It is owned and operated by state-owned rail operator KiwiRail. Three roll-on roll-off (R ...

, a subsidiary of New Zealand Government-owned

KiwiRail KiwiRail Holdings Limited is a New Zealand state-owned enterprise responsible for rail operations in New Zealand, and operates inter-island ferries. Trading as KiwiRail and headquartered in Wellington, New Zealand, KiwiRail is the largest rail ...

Fleet

Current fleet

Historic fleet

References

External links

StraitNZ website

Bluebridge website
2022 mergers and acquisitions {{New Zealand inter-island ferries Ferry companies of New Zealand Companies based in Wellington Cook Strait Ferry Picton, New Zealand Transport companies of New Zealand New Zealand companies established in 1992 Transport companies established in 1992