SeaLink halts Kangaroo Island ferry for 3 days to fit ramps
Parent company Kelsian has also taken Federal Court action against the Indonesian builder of one of the two new ferries, still undelivered after a testing incident.
SeaLink suspended all scheduled Kangaroo Island ferry sailings between Cape Jervis and Penneshaw for three days this week, from Tuesday 20 October to Thursday 22 October 2026, to install new vehicle ramps at both ports. The Kelsian Group subsidiary confirmed no services would run during the closure, which remained subject to weather conditions, as crews fitted ramp infrastructure built for two new vessels still being brought into the fleet.
Why it matters
A three-day blackout on the only vehicle ferry link to Kangaroo Island cuts off the main route for freight, tourism traffic and residents moving cars on and off the island, at the same time as the operator is fighting the builder of one of the two replacement ferries in the Federal Court. Kelsian has sued the Indonesian shipbuilder behind the second new vessel, Ruwi, after commercial negotiations over a firm departure date broke down. The ship has completed sea trials but remains in Indonesia following an incident during final testing earlier this year, and SeaLink has given no new timetable for its arrival. For contractors and logistics operators who schedule freight runs around the Cape Jervis crossing, the ramp works are a fixed, weather-dependent window, but the ferry fleet itself is now running to an open-ended timeline tied to a court case rather than a shipyard delivery date.
The numbers
The shutdown covers three sailing days, Tuesday 20 October to Thursday 22 October 2026, with new ramp infrastructure installed at Cape Jervis and Penneshaw to suit two new Kangaroo Island ferries being brought into service. InDaily names the first of the two as Wanggami. The second, Ruwi, is the subject of Kelsian’s Federal Court action against its Indonesian builder. InDaily reported on 16 October 2026 that the companies had failed to agree commercially on when the ship would leave Indonesia, after an incident during final sea testing delayed it earlier this year. SeaLink’s acting chief operating officer, Phil Boyle, said the situation was “extremely disappointing for everyone involved,” while South Australian Transport Minister Joe Szakacs told ABC Radio he was concerned and angry about the continuing delays to the fleet renewal. Boyle added that SeaLink was doing everything it could to get Ruwi to South Australia.
What’s next
The ramp works were scheduled to finish by the end of the three-day window, restoring the regular Cape Jervis to Penneshaw timetable from Friday. The Federal Court action over Ruwi has no scheduled hearing date, and SeaLink has not issued a new in-service date for either replacement vessel. Until that case moves, the operator keeps running its existing fleet across the newly upgraded ramp infrastructure, leaving islanders, freight operators and tourism businesses without certainty on when the fleet renewal that triggered this week’s shutdown will actually be complete. Operators booking freight or trade vehicles onto the crossing in coming weeks should treat the current fleet, not the new vessels, as the only confirmed capacity, and build buffer days into any island program that depends on a vehicle crossing in late October. Regional SA project and infrastructure coverage sits on our Adelaide market page.