Container ship breakdown in Wellington harbour is third incident in less than a year

The Shiling docked in Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Wellington’s harbourmaster is “not happy” after a cargo ship broke down in the capital’s main shipping channel at the weekend - the third incident involving the same vessel in less than a year.

The Shiling container ship had been departing Wellington for Napier on Saturday morning when it had a power failure on board.

With its power out, the Shiling then drifted out of the main channel before putting two anchors down and pulling itself to a halt.

Two tugboats stood by the Singapore-registered ship before it managed to make its way back to Wellington’s waterfront.

Wellington regional harbourmaster Grant Nalder said the ship also suffered a mechanical problem in July last year, which took a few days to resolve.

Nalder put weather conditions on the vessel for the duration of its visit at the time. He has put similar conditions on the ship after the latest incident on Saturday.

“It can only come off the berth in conditions that are good enough that the tugs can put it back on again if need be.

“We’re just trying to help it get out of the harbour safely and if there are any complications, to ensure we can look after it, get it back alongside, and get those issues sorted.”

The vessel also encountered a problem in February this year, although this was less significant and more of a hiccup, Nalder said.

Regardless, Nalder said he has now raised concerns with Maritime New Zealand about the Shiling.

“This is the third time, which I’m not happy about and they are looking very carefully at the ship.

“I understand she hasn’t had any problems in any other New Zealand ports but I’m concerned that this has happened again.”

It comes as Interislander’s Kaitaki ferry resumed passenger services last week after effectively being out of action for more than two months.

On January 28, the ship declared a mayday with 864 people on board when it lost power in Cook Strait and started drifting towards Wellington’s south coast.

After being given the all-clear to take passengers again for the first time in five weeks, Kaitaki was back sailing for less than 24 hours before a problem with its gearbox was discovered on March 4.

Interislander executive general manager Walter Rushbrook said the gearbox repair has gone well.

“The Kaitaki repair was complicated, requiring a particular type of metal for the gearbox that was manufactured and shipped from Germany, along with specialist technical support from the Netherlands. The gearbox failure was a surprise, given it was overhauled late last year in drydock.”

Two new mega-ferries are being built at Hyundai-Mipo Dockyard in South Korea to replace the increasingly unreliable Interislander fleet. They are due to arrive in 2025 and 2026.

Maritime NZ said it imposed conditions on the vessel on Saturday and inspectors are on board today.

The conditions imposed are: The Shiling is prohibited from departing from Wellington Harbour until all power generators and the main engine are fully operational to the satisfaction of the vessel’s Classification Society and the vessel is safe to proceed to sea. The conditions will remain in force until the repairs have been carried out to the satisfaction of vessel’s Classification Society and a notice of their withdrawal is issued by Maritime NZ.

Maritime NZ said it was aware of two previous engine incidents on board Shiling in New Zealand.

On July 4 last year it suffered engine failure in Wellington Harbour. Maritime NZ imposed conditions preventing its departure until repairs were carried out.

And on February 11 this year it had a brief engine stoppage in Wellington Harbour.