Tugs pull beleaguered container ship MC Shiling back into Wellington.

Tuesday, 23 May 2023

MV Shiling coming through the entrance to Wellington Harbour under tow and escorted by two harbour tugboats and a pilot boat.

Beleaguered MV Shiling has arrived in Wellington Harbour’s entrance under tow and shepherded by a pilot boat and two harbour tugs.

“Wellington’s turned on a good day for it,” said harbourmaster Grant Nalder who was watching the ship’s approach from a vantage point on Beacon Hill.

The vessel has arrived at its berth at Wellington’s CentrePort in Aotea Quay, after meeting the two harbour tugboats, Tiaka and Tapuhi, and the pilot boat, Te Haa, about 11am on Tuesday morning.

The Shiling has been under tow for about 24 hours from Tasman Bay. About midday, it was passing Barrett Reef near the harbour entrance, which Wahine hit in 1968 resulting in 53 deaths.

Incident Controller David Billington said that from the day the Shiling lost power en route to Singapore until now, the operation had been complex, involving “people and organisations, not just here, but around the world”.

Shiling container ship under tow in Cook Strait passing Wellington airport

'From its call for assistance on that morning, through to CentrePort’s pilotage into berth, we have seen response agencies, the owners of the Skandi Emerald, international insurers, the owners and harbourmasters have worked tirelessly to support this tow,” Billington said in a statement.

The container ship had to send out a mayday on May 12 after it broke down on its way to Singapore. The Skandi Emerald tug, which was in Taranaki working for the petrochemical industry, towed the Shiling to safety in Tasman Bay.

The Shiling had been on its way back to Singapore for extensive repairs after an earlier breakdown at the mouth of Wellington Harbour that resulted in it being kept in port in Wellington for just over three weeks for initial repairs.

Ocean-going tug Skandi Emerald has been towing MV Shiling for the past 24 hours, from Tasman Bay to Wellington.

Nalder earlier said the conditions could not be better for the ship to be towed into the harbour on a sea that was “like glass”.

While it was less than ideal to be towing an almost-300m ship into the harbour not under its own power, everything was otherwise perfect with good conditions, the right crew and the right gear, Nalder said.

MV Shiling being towed past Wellington's south coast on Tuesday

Billington said in a statement on Monday that the top priority was ensuring the operation was undertaken as safely as possible.

The tow started in Tasman Bay about 10.30am on Monday.

MV Shiling being taken under tow by the ocean-going tug, Skandi Emerald, which came to the stricken container ship. Video taken by Lottie McCloy from FV Crusader.

Shiling’s crew remain on board the vessel.

A 500-metre exclusion zone has been put in place around the towage operation for the duration of the journey to Wellington.

“The exclusion zone is in there for a reason, and it is to keep both the towage operation and other people safe,” Billington said.

Maritime NZ has said the cost of the tow will be covered by the ship’s owner and insurer.