Over the past 65 years Dunedin has received nearly 1600 visits by tankers, including 118 by the smaller coaster vessels of yesteryear, Maurea, Paua and Tanea.
And not all of them overseas foreign-owned tankers berthed to discharge petroleum products, for over a period from June, 1964, to February, 1979, there were 11 visits by eight smaller vessels to load tallow.
So far this year there have been 23 calls by tankers, with Kakariki having made nine visits and consort Torea eight.
The largest tankers to be registered in New Zealand for coastal duties, the 27,795gt Kakariki was built in Poland in 1999, and the 25,400gt Torea in South Korea six years ago.
Representing other flags and registers locally were newcomers CSC Amethyst (Hong Kong), Nord Swan (Denmark), Ocean Sedna (Singapore) plus Panama with Patagonian Mystic and Sabrewing, which has called twice.
Over the next week or so two Panamanian tankers will also be turning up here for the first time.
And here again we see what has become a common practice with fleets from major maritime nations for some time now: ships being flagged out under the colours of other nations.
The first of these tankers due is the 28,799gt, 47,999dwt Shimanami Sunshine, owned by La Dairen Navegacion SA. This 179.99m-long, 15.1-knot, double-hull vessel was laid down at Mihara, Japan by the Koyo Dockyard Company on June 27, 2002, and was launched on January 29, 2004.
Upon completion on July 29, 2004, it entered service originally with Marugame Kaisha Kisen Ltd and El Barrio Shipping SA.
In comparison construction of STX Ace 12, the second tanker due, only occupied less than four months from keel-laying to completion. Keel-laying on May 21, 2008, was followed by the launching exactly two months later, then completion on September 11.
Very much a part of South Korea's STX conglomerate, the 183.00m-long, 46,188dwt tanker was built by the STX Offshore and Shipbuilding Company at Chinhae, South Korea.
It is the last of a class of 30,027gt, 14.7-knot tankers built at this yard from 2006 for operation under the flag of Panama by STX Pan Ocean, or STX Shipmanagement. Owners of the vessel are listed as POS Maritime NX SA, of Seoul.
Two sister ships have already called here, STX Ace 7 in February, 2009, and STX Ace 6 three months later. And while the class runs from the numerals 1-12, there is no numbers 3, 4 or 9 among the present fleet.
Another unit of the STX Pan Ocean fleet that needs no introduction to the port makes a return visit to Ravensbourne tomorrow. New Baroness first called there in May, 1997, four months after it was delivered from the Ulsan, South Korea shipyard of Hanjin Heavy Industries.
The ship has previously made a further five calls there and has also loaded three consignments of logs at Port Chalmers. A smaller 16,498gt, 27,254dwt vessel designed to operate at 14 knots, and originally registered in Panama, it was transferred to South Korean registry six years ago.
