As of 2008, MV Kaitaki was the largest ferry operating the Interislander service between the North and South Islands of New Zealand having taken her latest name in 2007.

The ship was built at Van der Giessen de Noord shipyard in the Netherlands, and was launched in 1995 as the Isle of Innisfree for the Irish Ferries route between Holyhead and Dublin.

[6][7] On the evening of 28 January 2023, the Kaitaki suffered an incident where she lost power (including propulsion) around 5pm for several hours.

However, the ship managed to anchor itself safely, did not encounter any further danger, and power was eventually restored to the vessel later that night.

[9] By 18 January 2024, Maritime New Zealand had concluded its year-long investigation and filed a charge against KiwiRail for violating the Health and Safety at Work Act.