AITO NUI II

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

Propeller repair scheduled for November

More than a year after the propellers of the 'Aito Nui II' were damaged when it struck a coral head in Hitiaa after accompanying the gas tanker delivering to the Moux Group's storage facility, the tug will enter the floating dock on Nov 20, 2025, for propeller repairs. The reason is the availability of the dock, which is in high demand. The operation is scheduled to last approximately one month, after which another month the ship will run trials. It should therefore be able to return to service around Jan 15, 2026. The Port Authority had chartered the tug 'Cyathea' from a New Caledonian shipowner. The six-month contract was renewed and runs until December to assist container ships arriving in Papeete, which need the assistance of two tugs.

Replacement tug arrived in Papeete

The tug 'Cyathea' arrived in Papeete on the morning of Dec 11 from New Caledonia following a transit more than 11 days, to replaces the 'Aito Nui 2', one of the two tugs of the autonomous port of Tahiti, which broke down after hitting the reef at Hitia'a two months ago. The 'Cyathea', with a pulling force of 55 tons, arrived safely in Tahiti despite a one-day delay due to bad weather. The first operation of the tug is scheduled for Dec 26. It will assist jointly with the 'Aito Nui 1', the container m/v 'Cap Jackson'. Since the start of October, two large container ships have skipped the port, after the 'Cap Jervis' had to wait three days before finally being able to enter. A charter contract was concluded between the autonomous port and the Caledonian company Sorecal. The 'Aito Nui 2' is still in the hands of the experts and engineers.

Damaged tug to be replaced for half a year

One month after the 'Aito Nui II' was damaged on a reef in Hitia’a on Sep 30, 2024, will be replaced by a Caledonian tug with a 54-ton pulling force, which is expected at the Port of Papeete on Dec10. Until then, the towing operations will be carried out by the remaining port tug 'Aito Nui I' and the two port pushers that are made available by the French Navy. This allows to dock all ships less than 200 meters long. For ships measuring between 200 and 265 meters, it is still possible to dock them at the Port of Papeete if the weather conditions are favourableUntil Dec 10, the port will be able to accommodate at least 14 ships out of the 16 scheduled. The absence of the 'Aito Nui II' was beginning to worry the various economic players in the area, whether public or private. The ship will be chartered for six months, the time it takes to repair the 'Aito Nui II': The ship's keel has been completely deformed, and the impact on the reef also have caused leaks in the ship's hull according to initial findings. There are two investigations underway: an internal investigation by the port of Papeete, and another conducted by the State.