By Samantha Gee/RNZ
Former Interislander ferry Aratere is expected to arrive in Port Nelson later this week for the first time in nearly four months.
RNZ understands the ship, which has since been renamed Vega, will undergo a crew change and be restocked with fuel and provisions.
KiwiRail retired the ferry last August and announced in October it had been sold to a buyer who would deliver it to a shipbreaking yard in India.
Since being renamed Vega, the Interislander logos had been painted over and it is now flagged in the Caribbean nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis.
It is still not known when the ship will leave the country.
It has been anchored in Tasman Bay since early December with a crew from India, who had been onboard since October.
A Maritime NZ spokesperson said inspectors last visited the vessel in mid-February while it was in Tasman Bay, and planned to do so again while it was berthed in Nelson.
Inspectors had been regularly engaging with Vega, its operator and flag state regarding crew welfare and compliance with international requirements, Maritime NZ said.
"During these visits, inspectors speak directly with crew and assess compliance with relevant international conventions and flag state requirements relating to crew conditions and vessel safety."
The Maritime Union has previously raised concerns about the wages and living conditions of those onboard.
Nelson branch president Paul Stewart said he understood Vega was coming in to Port Nelson this week for a crew change, to get rid of rubbish and resupply with food and water.
The union was planning to board the ship, if the captain granted permission, to check on the crew's welfare and ensure they were being paid correctly, Stewart said.
There had been lots of rumours floating around so the union were keen to speak to the crew directly, he said.
"We haven't had any contact with them. You hear rumours floating around that they're not getting paid right or one member wants to jump off because the conditions are bad and that sort of thing. So we just want to get on board just to verify everything, pull the crew aside and just have a chat with them and touch base - see how they're actually doing and get some definitive answers."
The union had previously said the crew were being paid "significantly below international and domestic benchmarks".
Whether the ship would leave for India after coming into port or return to anchor in Tasman Bay was the "million dollar question", Stewart said.
RNZ understands some crew had been swapped out from the ship, with one person flown home to be with a sick family member, while a delivery of five pallets of food supplies was made several months ago.
RNZ understands issues with paperwork for the ship's entry to India are the reason it had not left New Zealand.
The Environmental Protection Authority last month said the application for the ship's export was complete but it had not received an update from the Competent Authority in India about the requested import consent.
The authority told RNZ this week it was unable to provide an update.
