Red, green, yellow, and blue are just some of the colours used on tug boats worldwide. The Piaka, originally branded red, has just had a makeover and a change of image.
According to Head of Marine Operations, Andrew Van der Bent, the decision to change colour was based on feedback from the team following the repaint of the Blackadder.
“Our preference for the tugs was to share the same colour scheme,”says Andrew Van der Bent.
Henry Bastion confirmed they found a few issues with the original red paint work when they stripped it back and found some incompatible coats of paint.
The new blue paint job was part of the five-year renewal survey, including scheduled top end overhauls of the main engines, tow winch, thrusters, hydraulic unit and coolers.
Also, there were a number of inspections relating to the survey, including all the tanks onboard, which are registered as confined spaces. New flooring was laid to replace the worn carpet, and the chairs have been reupholstered.
“The budget for the project is $1.6 million. This level of reinvestment in the tug is a vital part of our asset management plan to drive our marine assets’ reliability and longevity,” says Andrew.
Lyttelton’s tugs support approximately 1,800 ship movements each year. The smaller Tug Blackadder, is the first call, and Tug Piaka, the second call.
Seventy five per cent of all ship movements at the port require two tugs.
So how will we tell the difference between the two tugs now that they are the same colour?
Henry chuckles and says “It’s simple”.
“The Piakia is larger, sits higher in the water and it has her name on the back.”