TAIAROA

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'Taiaroa' officially launched

A bottle of Champagne smashing on the bow of Port Otago's new $11 million tug Taiaroa was the finale of the vessel's official launch and dedication on August 6. Following luncheon for about 40 guests, including the whanau of namesake Taiaroa and runanga representatives, more than 140 people attended the wharfside Beach St dedication at Port Chalmers at 2pm. Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu Otakou representative Tahu Potiki gave a brief history of the times of chief Taiaroa and his first cousin chief Karetai, after whom Port Otago's 40-year-old tug is named, and offered up a blessing for the new tug. Taiaroa arrived in Dunedin last month, following a 38-day delivery from Da Nang, in Vietnam, where it was built by Netherlands tug specialist Damen. Port Otago senior pilot Hugh Marshall said if registration was completed in time, the 24m vessel could be operational to handle shipping by the end of the week. A Damen employee is still in Port Chalmers and will be training up to five people to operate the two-person tug. While its predecessor the Otago was lighter and has a bollard pull of 58 tonnes from its 4800 horsepower engine, the Taiaroa has a 68-tonne pull and 5800 horsepower, with twin azimuth (rotatable) propellers. Source : Otago daily Times

Engine problem delays arrival of new tug

Engine problems have forced Port Otago's new $11 million tug Taiaroa, on its maiden voyage to Port Chalmers, to divert to Lyttelton's dry dock. The 24.5m, 250-tonne tug, built by Netherlands company Damen in Da Nang, Vietnam, is on a course between Brisbane and Cook Strait and is expected to reach Lyttelton by Sunday, Port Otago chief executive Geoff Plunket said. He said the four-man specialist delivery crew had reported a leak, stemming from a problem with the engine cooling system. While it was ''not significant enough'' to consider putting into an Australian port, Lyttelton had a berth available in its dry dock facility, Mr Plunket said. ''We don't believe it to be significant. It could well be just a [blown] seal.'' Taiaroa, which is still under warranty with Damen, would arrive in Lyttelton on Sunday and go into dry dock on Monday. The voyage is more than 5000 nautical miles (9300km). Mr Plunket had expected it to arrive in Dunedin on Monday, but it was ''more likely'' to be sometime between July 18 and 20, he said. Source : Otago Daily Times