It seems like only yesterday that Port Taranaki was welcoming new tug Kīnaki with a water salute from her fellow tugs and a ceremonial champagne christening.
The reality is it’s been five years and 3,400 hours of work, so early in January the hard-working harbour tug was sent to Lyttelton drydock for her five-yearly, out-of-water, full warrant of fitness.
Officially, it’s called her first special survey, where she was assessed and maintenance work required was carried out. A surveyor from Lloyd’s Register – globally recognised for marine classification and compliance – then gave her a final inspection and, satisfied that all requirements had been met, renewed her certification of class and certification of survey for another five years.
“We had a team of five – three bridge watchkeepers and two engineers – take her to and from Lyttelton. Our two engineers then spent the full 13 days with the vessel overseeing the project, and there was a large team from Lyttelton Engineering who worked on her,” Port Taranaki marine technical manager Jeremy Vickers explains.
“As is the case with any major maintenance, there was the odd surprise that resulted in some unscheduled work, but overall the project went well and to plan.”
During drydock a range of tasks were carried out, including a full disassembly and survey of the propeller units, an overhaul of the sea water and fire pump, replacement of the hull anodes, repair of the hull valves, corrosion repairs on deck, full underwater recoatings and deck recoatings, and a new coat of orange on the topside.
Mr Vickers was thrilled with the performance of the Port Taranaki team during the project.
“We had two marine deck hands – Jack Cameron and Dave Scott – who are master qualified, step up to master of passage for each trip, which was a fantastic experience for them both. Our engineers Kurt Hikaka and Micky James did great work overseeing the project, while marine operator Regan Diggelmann did a fine job in his first assignment since joining the port fulltime early last month.
“We’d been advised that, following the maintenance on the propeller system, the Kīnaki’s oil filters might need to be cleaned or changed a couple of times. This proved to be the case on her return home, and the team showed real resourcefulness and adaptability to maintain the filters while on passage.
“Although it slowed their return, it did have its advantages, with Hector’s dolphins being spotted off Lyttelton and several Humpback whales off Kaikōura.”
Now Kīnaki’s all shiny and new, and raring to go for the next five years, although she will have an intermediate in-water survey in 2.5 years.
“Kīnaki is a valuable member of the Port Taranaki team, so it’s great to have her back home and back into service,” Mr Vickers says.
