A spring storm with gale-force winds topping 120 kilometres an hour left New Zealand's largest passenger ferry battling for more than eight hours to cross Cook Strait between the North and South Islands on Tuesday, DPA quoted radio New ZEALAND as saying. The ship, which can carry 1,600 passengers and 600 cars, was riding out 9-metre-high waves waiting for the winds to drop so that it could enter Wellington harbour. The 182-metre long ship left the South Island port of Picton at 1:15 p.m. and was scheduled to dock in Wellington about 4:15 p.m., but five hours later it was still riding out the high seas outside the harbour entrance. It was not immediately known how many passengers were on board. A spokeswoman for the Australian-owned Interislander Ferries company told Radio New Zealand the ship would enter the harbour as soon as it was safe to do so. Radio New Zealand quoted one passenger as saying many people were seasick, and that crockery and cutlery was falling off tables in the dining rooms as waves washed up to deck level. Other ferry sailings were cancelled as torrential rain and gales lashed the capital all day, closing the airport and disrupting road and rail travel. About 5,000 passengers were stranded when Air New Zealand halted flights because the winds made it unsafe for planes to land and takeoff. Train services were held up when fallen trees blocked tracks and localised flooding and landslides made driving on the roads hazardous, Radio New Zealand reported. The MetService issued heavy rain warnings for the capital and much of the central part of the country.
