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Arahura (ferry)
Encyclopedia
DEV Arahura is a roll-on roll-off
RORO
Roll-on/roll-off ships are vessels designed to carry wheeled cargo such as automobiles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, trailers or railroad cars that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels...
diesel-electric
Diesel-electric
Diesel-electric transmission or diesel-electric powertrain is used by a number of vehicle and ship types for providing locomotion.A diesel-electric transmission system includes a diesel engine connected to an electrical generator, creating electricity that powers electric traction motors...
rail ferry
Train ferry
A train ferry is a ship designed to carry railway vehicles. Typically, one level of the ship is fitted with railway tracks, and the vessel has a door at the front and/or rear to give access to the wharves. In the United States, train ferries are sometimes referred to as "car ferries", as...
built in 1982 for the New Zealand Railways Corporation
OnTrack
OnTrack was a regional rail line that operated in Syracuse, New York from 1994 to 2007. During its operation, Syracuse was the smallest city in the United States to have regional train service. The line ran from Colvin Street on the city's south side via Syracuse University and Armory Square to the...
. She remains in service on the Interislander
Interislander
The Interislander is a road and rail ferry service across New Zealand's Cook Strait, owned and operated by state-owned rail operator KiwiRail.The Interislander travels between Wellington in the North Island and Picton in the South Island, forming a road and rail link between New Zealand's two main...
route across the Cook Strait
Cook Strait
Cook Strait is the strait between the North and South Islands of New Zealand. It connects the Tasman Sea on the west with the South Pacific Ocean on the east....
in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
History
Arahura was built in 1982 for the New Zealand Railways CorporationOnTrack
OnTrack was a regional rail line that operated in Syracuse, New York from 1994 to 2007. During its operation, Syracuse was the smallest city in the United States to have regional train service. The line ran from Colvin Street on the city's south side via Syracuse University and Armory Square to the...
to operate on the Cook Strait
Cook Strait
Cook Strait is the strait between the North and South Islands of New Zealand. It connects the Tasman Sea on the west with the South Pacific Ocean on the east....
route between Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
and Picton
Picton, New Zealand
Picton is a town in the Marlborough region of New Zealand. It is close to the head of Queen Charlotte Sound near the north-east corner of the South Island. The population was 2928 in the 2006 Census, a decrease of 72 from 2001...
. She was delivered in 1983, replacing the aging Aramoana
Aramoana (ferry)
Government Motor Vessel Aramoana was a roll-on roll-off train ferry operating across the Cook Strait between 1962 and 1983.-History:...
and Aranui. She was designed to operate at a higher service speed than the existing ferries on the route, while reducing waves that would affect nearby beaches. This decreased the crossing times by 20 minutes. She is the only vessel in the fleet owned by KiwiRail (Aratere
Aratere (ferry)
The DEV Aratere is a roll-on roll-off rail and vehicle ferry in service for Interislander in New Zealand. The ferry was built for Tranz Rail, now KiwiRail, in 1998 to replace the aging MV Aratika...
and are leased) and is expected to remain in service until 2016.
The current Arahura is the second inter-island ferry to bear the name, which means "Pathway to Dawn" in the Māori language
Maori language
Māori or te reo Māori , commonly te reo , is the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Māori. It has the status of an official language in New Zealand...
. The earlier vessel was a twin screw steam ship built for the Union Steamship Company
Union Company
The Union Company, Union Steam Ship Company , or Union Line was started in Dunedin, New Zealand, in 1875, when it was floated by James Mills, who had been clerk to Johnny Jones and his Harbour Steam Company....
in 1905. That ship served until the early 1950s and was sunk by the RNZAF as target practice.
In 1986, Arahura helped rescue passengers from the Mikhail Lermontov
Mikhail Lermontov (ship)
MS Mikhail Lermontov was an ocean liner owned by the Soviet Union's Baltic Shipping Company, built in 1972 by V.E.B. Mathias-Thesen Werft, Wismar, East Germany. She was later converted into a cruise ship...
. She was invaluable providing lifeboats and extra assistance to the sinking Russian cruise liner.
On September 30, 1987, Arahura snapped her moorings and floats free, straddling Kings and Glasgow Wharves in Wellington.
On April 11, 1989, Arahura rolled to 40 degrees during a routine sailing from Picton to Wellington.
In 2008, Arahura underwent a $NZ 9m refit to better accommodate larger trucks and campervan
Campervan
A campervan , sometimes referred to simply as a camper, or a caravanette, is a self-propelled vehicle that provides both transport and sleeping accommodation. The term mainly describes vans that have been fitted out, often with a coachbuilt body for use as accommodation...
s. This included reducing some of the upper decks and a new cinema and cafeteria.
Livery
Arahura has changed liveries twice in her lifetime. Originally, she had a green hull and buff, red, and black on the funnel (a modified 1970s NZR logo).In 1989, the inter-island service was re-branded as a "ferry cruise", and the livery of all the ferries was replaced with a white hull with blue and green stripes. The funnels now carried a stylized 'Pelorus Jack
Pelorus Jack
Pelorus Jack was a Risso's dolphin that was famous for meeting and escorting ships through a stretch of water in Cook Strait, New Zealand, between 1888 and 1912...
', a dolphin famous for assisting vessels navigating across the Cook Strait.
The liveries were changed again in 2004. Pelorus Jack was relocated to the hull and the funnels were now blue with a fern replacing Pelorus Jack.
Propulsion
Arahura is a diesel electric vessel. She has a fuel capacity of 450,000 litres and was built with the capability to provide power ashore for civil defence or similar emergencies providing 14 MW power - enough power to light all the houses in Wellington. During her lifetime so far, Arahura has made over 24000 return crossings across Cook Strait.Deck Layout
Rail and road vehicles are loaded and unloaded through the stern of the ship via a double linkspanLinkspan
A linkspan or link-span is a type of drawbridge used mainly in the operation of moving vehicles on and off a RO-RO vessel or ferry.Linkspans are usually found at ferry terminals where a vessel uses a combination of ramps either at the stern, bow or side to load or unload cars, vans, trucks and...
. Passengers without vehicles board through a walkway on the starboard side.
- Decks 1 and 2 are below the waterline and contain the ship's engines and other machinery.
- Deck 3 is the rail deck, which can also hold motor vehicles.
- Deck 5 is the dedicated vehicle deck.
- Deck 7 contains passenger accommodations, including a play area, video arcadeVideo arcadeAn amusement arcade or video arcade is a venue where people play arcade games such as video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchandisers , or coin-operated billiards or air hockey tables...
, food court, a cinema, and a store. - Deck 8 contains the passenger observation decks and the Queen Charlotte Cafe and Bar
- Deck 9 houses the bridge and officers' quarters. She carries approximately 70 crew, half of whom live on-board on a 7 days on, 7 days off roster cycle.