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GMV Aranui

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Aranui in Queen Charlotte Sound in 1968
History
New Zealand
NameAranui
OwnerNew Zealand Railways Department
RouteWellington to Picton
BuilderVickers, High Walker
Cost$NZ 4 million
Yard number183
Launched26 June 1965
Completed1965
IdentificationIMO number6517067[1]
FateScrapped at Chittagong 1994
General characteristics
Tonnage3,281 GT; later 4,160
Length112.2 m (368 ft)
Beam18.6 m (61 ft)
Draft4.78 metres (15.7 ft)
Installed power6 × English Electric 16-cylinder 4-stroke turbocharged 16 CSVM diesel 10" x 21" design 900rpm, service 700rpm
PropulsionElectric drive to 2 shafts
Speed19 knots (22 mph)
Capacity
Crew90

GMV Aranui was a roll-on/roll-off train ferry operating across the Cook Strait between 1965 and 1984.

History

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Government Motor Vessel (GMV) Aranui was built in 1965 for the New Zealand Railways Department for the service between the North and South Islands of New Zealand.[2] She was built by Vickers in England.[3][4] In February 1965, she sailed via the Panama Canal, arriving in Wellington on 28 May[4] and entered service with her sister GMV Aramoana on 9 June.[5] In 1977 she was rebuilt by Sims Engineering, Dunedin to carry 950 passengers to meet the increased traffic, following the company's main competitor, the Union Company's withdrawal from the route.[6][7][8][9][10]

In 1983, Aranui and Aramoana were replaced by the significantly larger Arahura. Aranui was laid up in Wellington in June 1984 and sold four months later to the Najd Trading & Construction Company of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.[4][11] Renamed Aranui A and then Nui, she commenced service carrying Muslim pilgrims on the Red Sea.[4]

In 1986, the ship was renamed Najd III. Five years later, following an engine failure, she was laid up at Singapore.[8] In 1992, her owners were unable to make progress payments for a repair/refit. She arrived at a Chittagong breaker's yard on 3 November 1994.[4]

Layout

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Aranui was slightly larger than Aramoana. She had a higher bridge and funnel than her older sister ship.[12]

A combined vehicle deck could carry 70 cars and 30 rail wagons.

Service

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Aranui was built to operate a railway service between Wellington and Picton, later known as the Interislander.

Footnotes

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  1. ^ "Aranui - IMO 6517067". Shipspotting. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  2. ^ New Zealand's Rail Ferry Australian Transport January 1965 page 35
  3. ^ New Zealand Network April 1965 page 2
  4. ^ a b c d e "NZ Rail Ferry Aranui". NZ National Maritime Museum. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  5. ^ Aranui makes last crossing Rails August 1984 page 18
  6. ^ Refit for Aranui at Dundein Network June 1978 page 28
  7. ^ Aranui back in service following $3 million all NZ refit Rails January 1979 pages 7-9
  8. ^ a b "M/S Aranui". Fakta om fartyg. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  9. ^ "New Zealand's Cook Strait Rail Ferries". NZ National Maritime Museum. Archived from the original on 27 July 2009. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  10. ^ Stott, Bob (1981). The Cook Strait Ferry Story. Southern Press. p. 44. ISBN 0908616015.
  11. ^ Pioneer ferries sold overseas Rails January 1985 page 144
  12. ^ "Aranui Cook Strait ferry". New Zealand History Online. Retrieved 26 February 2012.