Friday, May 31, 2024

USSCo.'s 'Marama' at Wellington's Taranaki Street Wharf

No date but probably early 1970s. The wharf was used into the early 1990s.

Builder: Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering, Dundee, Scotland
Date Built: 1969
Length x Breadth: 131 metres
Tonnage: 4510
Propulsion: Twin screw motor. 16.5 knots
Owners: 1969-1985 USSCo & Ascot Shipping Wellington

Had a bow thruster and flume tank stabilisers. MAHENO and MARAMA were built to operate a fortnightly service from Auckland and Wellington to Sydney and Melbourne. MAHENO was delayed by engine malfunctions and MARAMA by industrial action at the shipyard. The rapid growth of the standard ISO container in the following years saw both ships replaced by 1976 and sold although MARAMA was chartered back by the Union Company for the trans-Tasman service and also to the Pacific Islands, being finally sold in 1985 and broken up in Taiwan.

For lots more, see our books, particularly New Zealand Maritime Images: the Golden Years

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