Stranded ironsand carrier stable at anchor

8.45am

A giant ironsand carrier hit by mechanical problems off the Northland coast is stable at anchor today, the Maritime Safety Authority says.

The 140,000-tonne Taharoa Express, which is fully laden with 120,000 tonnes of ironsand, is sitting about 5km off Dargaville with a crack in its propeller shaft.

A tug from New Plymouth is due to reach the ship later today. A second tug from Auckland is due to arrive tomorrow, while a third was coming from Japan.

MSA spokesman Lindsay Sturt said an oil pollution response team had been mobilised, but the authority did not foresee any environmental problems.

"The weather is calm and settled and the sea is pretty flat, so the vessel is fairly stable at anchor," he said.

"We have a tug arriving this afternoon to be on standby if something untoward happens. If need be, the vessel could still start up its engines and move further out to sea."

Mr Sturt said a decision had not yet been made about how the shaft would be repaired, because the Taharoa Express was too big to dock at any New Zealand port.

When the vessel loads up with ironsand, it does so from a mooring buoy.

"It could be towed back to Japan, or it could be towed back to the mooring buoy," Mr Sturt said.

"A shaft is not something that can be replaced quickly. They are tailor-made so a new one will have to be manufactured."

The Taharoa Express is named after the Waitomo district town from where the ironsand it ships originates.

It left early yesterday with its latest load, but its engines were shut down at 3.30pm when the crack was discovered.

The ship is owned by Arafra Shipping, a Panamanian subsidiary of Nippon Yusen KK.

It has made regular voyages between New Zealand and Japan since April 1999.

- NZPA

Further reading: nzherald.co.nz/marine