THE STRICKEN containership Shiling berthed in CentrePort Wellington on Tuesday after being towed in from Tasman Bay.

The ship broke down off the coast of New Zealand earlier this month and remained at sea while next steps and voyage plans took shape.

Oceangoing tug Skandi Emerald towed the vessel to Tasman Bay, where it dropped anchor. The tug was towing the ship to Wellington on the morning of 23 May, a journey that took around 24 hours, before it was piloted to berth.

Two CentrePort’s tugs, Tiaki and Tapuhi, assisted the operation and berth of the Shiling in Wellington harbour, and pilot vessel Te Haa facilitated pilot boarding.

CentrePort chief executive Anthony Delaney praised the co-ordination between CentrePort and maritime organisations for the vessel’s return.

“There’s a great deal of planning and co-ordination to carry out an operation like this, and I appreciate how well everyone has worked together,” he said.

“We’ve been talking with Maritime New Zealand and the incident controller, Wellington’s harbour master Grant Nalder, and the crew of the Skandi Emerald IV to plan a safe and smooth operation.”

“We’re really proud of our team at CentrePort for using their expertise and for managing things in a calm and professional manner.”

Maritime NZ incident controller David Billington said it had been a complex operation between the ship losing power and being towed to berth.

He said the process involved a significant number of people and organisations in New Zealand and around the world.

“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,” Mr Billington said.

He said there were many variables to manage when planning the movements of the vessel, which is 294 metres long.

“This includes, weather, other vessels and berthing availabilities,” he said.

“We saw on the weekend there were rough conditions forecast at its anchorage at Tasman Bay, and Nelson harbourmaster supported this operation by allowing the Shiling to be towed to a point of shelter.”

Maritime NZ said it has checked in on the crew of 24 while the vessel was without power.

The Maritime NZ Incident Response Team was to stand down once the vessel berthed. CentrePort was unsure how long Shiling would remain at berth.