Cargo ship MV Shiling leaves Wellington – again

The cargo ship MV Shiling left New Zealand on Friday afternoon after a detention order was lifted.

The Singaporean ship has been berthed in Wellington since late May after two failed attempts to leave New Zealand waters in the past three months.

Maritime NZ said on Friday the vessel was due to leave about 3.30pm after it satisfied conditions the agency had imposed. It will be escorted by the MMA Vision, a vessel capable of emergency towage, until 200 nautical miles off the New Zealand coast.

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“This is an extra layer of protection to keep the crew on the vessel and New Zealand safe,” Maritime NZ’s Deputy Chief Executive, Regulatory Operations Deb Despard says.

Shiling has been ordered back to its home port in Singapore and its movements out of New Zealand waters will be monitored.

Despard said the ship had undertaken a range of trials, supervised by the ship’s classification society and an overseas technician from the main engine’s manufacturer, to show it could satisfy the necessary requirements to be released from detention.

“These started with testing the engine alongside the berth at CentrePort, then progressing to harbour trials and finally an open sea trial south of Wellington, with a tug escort throughout,” she said.

“Maritime NZ wants to assure people in New Zealand, we have taken this vessel’s issues very seriously.”

Shiling suffered an engine failure in April that saw it drift dangerously close to a shallow shoal in the Wellington Harbour. After it was cleared to head back to Singapore for further repairs in May, the ship was stranded off Farewell Spit at the top of the South Island because of a power and steering failure.