Sinking feeling over a nautical dud

The Atlantic Trader is racking up berthage fees of $200 a day at its wharf on Hamer St, near Westhaven Marina. Picture / Greg Bowker

The rusting hulk of a 2000-tonne ship once intended to become a Cook Strait ferry is now a costly headache for an Auckland marine engineering company.

The Atlantic Trader was a $10 million investment which turned into $1 for millionaire Waikato farmer John Ramsey.

It was diverted to Auckland during its delivery voyage from Miami to Wellington in 2001 after it began taking on water.

It has been tied up ever since, clocking up berthage fees of $200 a day, because it is not safe to sail.

When the Atlantic Trader arrived in Auckland Mr Ramsey was horrified at the state of the hull. He later discovered that the marine survey report that came with the ship was a fake.

Maritime New Zealand was just as horrified at the state of the ship, now 37 years old, and immediately banned it from going to sea.

The hull was so rusty and unsound, it was feared the ship would sink.

Since then, the Ports of Auckland has ordered all fuel, lubricants and other contaminants removed in case the ship sinks at its berth where it still sits with a list to port and obvious signs of rust and decay over much of the hull and deck.

Mr Ramsey intended to use the 73m ship on a new Cook Strait ferry service but sold it late last year for $1.

He paid five years of berthage owed on it, thought to be more than $300,000, after it was tied up at Titan Marine Engineering's wharf in Freeman's Bay.

But the new Australian owner sold it again for a lot more than he paid without paying any fees. The latest mystery owner has also not paid fees, now thought to be nearly $70,000.

Titan Marine owner Mike Frewin refused to discuss the ship.

"Legal proceedings are under way, and it is probably better that I don't say anything," he said.

Mr Ramsey said it had been an expensive disaster, and he sold the ship for $1 "to let somebody else have the headache".

He would not say how much he paid for it, but an industry source suggested the figure was $10 million.

Taking legal action against the previous owners was investigated but was not an option, he said.

"We bought a bit of a dud," said Mr Ramsey, who owns Crusader Meats in south Waikato and Pakatoa Island in the Hauraki Gulf.

He said that at $200 a day to berth, the ship was too expensive to keep when it was not earning an income.

Five years ago, Maritime New Zealand director Russell Kilvington said the hull was so rusted and corroded it broke away in the hands.

"It is certainly one of the worst ships we have ever seen in terms of its total unseaworthiness," Mr Kilvington said in 2001.

Marine inspectors were astonished it had even reached New Zealand, he said.

He was concerned that it had been allowed to sail by authorities overseas.

Maritime New Zealand's general manager for maritime operations, John Mansell, said yesterday no maintenance had been done since 2001 and the Atlantic Trader had deteriorated significantly since then.

"It is in such a serious condition now we believe the only valid option is for it to be scrapped or dumped," he said.

Maritime New Zealand would allow it to be towed only to a scrapyard and then only after extensive work was done to make it safe and watertight.

- NZPA