GMV Aranui
GMV Aranui was a roll-on/roll-off train ferry operating across the Cook Strait between 1965 and 1984.
Aranui in Queen Charlotte Sound in 1968 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | Aranui |
| Owner | New Zealand Railways Department |
| Route | Wellington to Picton |
| Builder | Vickers, High Walker |
| Cost | $NZ 4 million |
| Yard number | 183 |
| Launched | 26 June 1965 |
| Completed | 1965 |
| Identification | IMO number: 6517067[1] |
| Fate | Scrapped at Chittagong 1994 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | 3,281 GT; later 4,160 |
| Length | 112.2 m (368 ft) |
| Beam | 18.6 m (61 ft) |
| Draft | 4.78 metres (15.7 ft) |
| Installed power | 6 × English Electric 16-cylinder 4-stroke turbocharged 16 CSVM diesel 10" x 21" design 900rpm, service 700rpm |
| Propulsion | Electric drive to 2 shafts |
| Speed | 19 knots (22 mph) |
| Capacity |
|
| Crew | 90 |
History Edit
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 Edit
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 Edit
Aranui was built to operate a railway service between Wellington and Picton, later known as the Interislander.
Footnotes Edit
- ^ "Aranui - IMO 6517067". Shipspotting. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
- ^ New Zealand's Rail Ferry Australian Transport January 1965 page 35
- ^ New Zealand Network April 1965 page 2
- ^ a b c d e "NZ Rail Ferry Aranui". NZ National Maritime Museum. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
- ^ Aranui makes last crossing Rails August 1984 page 18
- ^ Refit for Aranui at Dundein Network June 1978 page 28
- ^ Aranui back in service following $3 million all NZ refit Rails January 1979 pages 7-9
- ^ a b "M/S Aranui". Fakta om fartyg. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
- ^ "New Zealand's Cook Strait Rail Ferries". NZ National Maritime Museum. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
- ^ Stott, Bob (1981). The Cook Strait Ferry Story. Southern Press. p. 44. ISBN 0908616015.
- ^ Pioneer ferries sold overseas Rails January 1985 page 144
- ^ "Aranui Cook Strait ferry". New Zealand History Online. Retrieved 26 February 2012.