Ferry access to Aotea has been reduced, with SeaLink dropping sailings as fuel prices spike off the back of the Iran crisis.
“Due to a significant rise in fuel costs, we’re making some short-term adjustments to our timetable,” the company said Saturday.
“This includes a reduction in sailings across our Waiheke Island and Great Barrier Island services.”
The change is immediate: Saturday ferries to and from Great Barrier Island are scheduled not to run next week.
Flights to the island are already feeling the squeeze; Brent Crude Oil jumped three percent on Friday to 106.77 USD a barrel.
Fares with Barrier Air are peaking at $339 one-way over the coming week.
Meanwhile, Island Aviation has pushed its North Shore–Claris fares up to $199 each way as fuel costs jump.
CEO Chris Sattler said the shift has been sudden.
“Over the past week, one of our fuel suppliers increased prices by double digits, and another supplier is expected to follow with further increases during March.”
“Normally, fuel prices only change on the first of the month… that predictability has gone out the window for now.”
He said there are no plans to reduce services.
Great Barrier Island Local Board Chair Izzy Fordham says the soaring prices are a serious concern to islanders. At the island’s four petrol outlets, prices are already sitting at around $4.17 a litre, with diesel at $3.76.
“It will really start kicking in big time soon,” Fordham said. “Airfares have naturally gone up in price, and so will the shipping costs. Personally, I’d be expecting to see a fuel surcharge creep in.”
She noted this would impact essential services.
“We depend on the airlines for medical supplies, getting blood tests and things like that off the island. The mail, of course, comes through, freight on the boat, grocery supplies for the shops and, of course, fuel. It’s a little bit scary; there is no denying that. But Barrier folk are quite resilient, so we will get through it.”
The struggle is mirrored on New Zealand’s other outlying islands, including even more intensely in the Chatham Islands, where officials held an emergency meeting Friday as fuel costs surged.
Purchase costs there are set to jump nearly a dollar a litre, with Chatham Islands Enterprise Trust chief executive Bob Penter saying the goal is to avoid passing that on in one hit.
“The main concern for us is if we are able to soften the blow… rather than a sudden shock.”
Before the crisis, the Chathams already held the title for New Zealand’s most expensive fuel at $4.50 per litre for petrol.
