The name sounding more of
a South Indian name attracted me, it eventually turned
out to have no connection at all !
Timaru is a port city in the southern Canterbury
region of New Zealand, located 157 kilometres southwest of Christchurch and
about 196 kilometres northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific coast of the
South Island. Timaru has been built on rolling hills created from the lava
flows of the extinct Mt Horrible volcano, which last erupted many thousands of
years ago. The result is that most of the main streets are undulating, a clear
contrast with the flat landscape of the Canterbury Plains to the north. This
volcanic rock is used for the construction of local "bluestone"
buildings. Rangatiraare the hereditary Māori leaders of hapū; people of great practical wisdom who held
authority on behalf of the tribe and maintained boundaries between a tribe's
land and that of other tribes.
A ship stranded in Timaru
two years ago after failing a number of safety checks is to be sold to pay off
more than $170,000 owed to PrimePort.A High Court Justice in New Zealand has ordered the MV Rangatira, which has been
docked in Timaru's port since it was detained by Maritime New Zealand in July
2015, to be sold. In his judgement,
Justice Nicholas Davidson said the ship was detained on the grounds that its
"certificate of survey had expired", and because "no steps taken to maintain Safe Ship Management/
Maritime Operator Safety Certificate". PrimePort went to the High Court to
claim unpaid berthage fees of $750 a day between March 14, 2016, when the
company that owned the ship went into liquidation, and November 17, when the
ship was seized by the High Court.
In his judgement Justice
Davidson ordered the ship to be valued and sold, and the outstanding amount of
$177,750, interest of $25,091 and costs of $12,934 be paid to PrimePort.The
ship had previously been operated by South East Shipping Ltd, owned by Timaru
maritime industry veteran Kelvin Leslie.Leslie's firm had run the ship between
Timaru and Owenga, in the Chatham Islands.
A report by liquidator
Christopher Horton in April last year said cashflow difficulties resulted in
Leslie going into a joint partnership with Norfolk Island Shipping while the
Rangatira was for sale in 2015.When the Rangatira failed to sell on the open
market, "disputes arose" between the two shipping companies and
Norfolk Island Shipping applied to the High Court in Timaru to liquidate South
East Shipping.At the time Horton said the Rangatira, which was the company's
main asset, was not able to be sold by the liquidators because Leslie had a
shipping mortgage and general security agreement over it.
However in its application
to the High Court PrimePort asked for the Rangatira to be valued and sold.In
the judgement Paul David QC said the Rangatira had "reached the end of its
economic life and presented a risk to the Timaru port and the
environment".
Sad end for Rangatira
which in the last 15 and a half years, had made more than nine hundred voyages between
Timaru and the Chatham Islands. In the
process she has travelled the equivalent distance of 11 times around the
world. She has shipped cargoes of sheep,
cattle, wool, roading shingle, horses, milch cows, chickens, kitset sheds and
tractors. The trip in Aug last, proved
to be her last voyage and now may begin a
new chapter in her life sailing on another ocean.
Change of names or voyage
perhaps is not new for her. Built in
1970, the Bokul Ronne, as she was originally named, was one of a fleet of eight
ships built to the same design in the shipyard at Ringkøbing in Denmark. Following her launch, she spent years plying
the coasts of Northern Europe carrying cargoes of Heineken beer. Renamed the Jenka, she was then tasked with
carrying explosives and dangerous good around the world.When Kelvin brought her
she had just completed a voyage from Europe to Newcastle, Australia, with a
cargo of steel pipes.The walls of the bridge are clad in polished Scandinavian
timber.
But despite her age, the
Rangatira is stated to be a good old
boat, and she'll make her way through some tough gales yet. After all, with one exception her sister
ships are all still afloat, a testament to the skillful work of her designers
and builders.
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
5th May 2017.
source : www.stuff.co.nz
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