Refuelling tanker takes over Tank Farm duties

The demise of fuel storage at the Tank Farm means cruise ships and large cargo vessels in Auckland will be refuelled directly from a new tanker, the Awanuia.

The 80m vessel can hold the equivalent of 25,000 barrels of fuel which it will ship directly from the Marsden Point oil refinery. It will replace a smaller barge which used to take on fuel at Wynyard Quarter and then supply visiting ships.

The Awanuia was built in Turkey for around $20 million for Seafuels, a joint-venture company involving Ports of Auckland and Pacific Basin Shipping and is under charter to Shell.

Seafuels chairman Jens Madsen said having such a refuelling ship in Auckland was vital to retaining and expanding the international cargo and cruise ship business in Auckland. Most cruise ships carried only two weeks of fuel so it was important to retain refuelling services in Auckland.

The Awanuia is expected to ply the Marsden Pt-Auckland route about 80 times a year. It has two separate engine rooms so can run on only one of its engines if required and has a double hull. Its 20,000km delivery voyage took three months.

Captain John Skrine said the roughest patch was in the Bay of Bengal where it easily coped with monsoon storms and 4m waves.

The Awanuia makes its first run to Marsden Point today.