Another successful cruise-ship season will end next Monday, when Crystal Symphony makes a return visit.
The ship was in port last Friday on its second visit, its first appearance here since 1998.
Operated by Crystal Cruises, part of Japan's NYK group, it was one of three cruise ships built for these interests in the 1990s.
First up was the 48,621gt, 960-berth, Nassau-registered Crystal Harmony, completed in June 1990.
It was followed by the 28,717gt, 604-berth, Tokyo-registered Asuka, which entered service in October 1991.
Both ships were built at Nagasaki by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
Asuka made five calls here over a 10-year period from February 1995, to February 2005.
Crystal Harmony also made the same number of visits between November 1998, and March 2004.
Both ships were renamed in 2006, with Asuka being sold for further service as Amadea.
Crystal Harmony, after being refitted, was transferred to the Japanese register to become the Tokyo-registered Asuka II.
Of particular interest were visits to Port Chalmers, within two days of each other, last year. But it was something of a surprise when NYK moved away from the Japanese shipbuilding industry and ordered Crystal Symphony from a Finnish yard, the Kvaerner Masa yard at Turku.
It was delivered in April 1995.
Modelled along the lines of the 1990-built vessel, it was slightly shorter at 238.01m but larger at 51,044gt, and was designed to carry 975 passengers in 480 cabins.
Unlike the two earlier twin-screw diesel-engined vessels, Crystal Symphony was fitted with a twin-screw, diesel-electric installation that gives a service speed of 21 knots.
The youngest cruise ship in the NYK fleet is the 68,870gt, 1140-berth Crystal Serenity, which so far has only called here twice.
It was also built offshore and completed at St Nazaire in June 2003, by the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard.
Incidentally, Royal Caribbean's 78,491gt, 2416-berth Rhapsody of the Seas, here on its 13th visit yesterday, was handed over by these builders in April 1997.
The report in last Tuesday's Otago Daily Times relating to finding the wreck, believed to be that of the 3022gt steamer Wimmera, was interesting.
The ship, on a voyage from Auckland to Sydney, sank on June 26, 1918, 28km north of Cape Maria van Diemen with the loss of 26 lives, after striking a mine laid by the German raider Wolf.
But the report incorrectly states the ship was owned in New Zealand by Australian-based Huddart Parker.
The steamer was registered to the ownership of Huddart Parker Ltd and was registered at Melbourne.
And in reference to Port Kembla, an earlier victim on September 18, 1917, to a mine laid by the same raider, it was, despite its name, incorrectly quoted as being an Australian ship.
The 4700gt steamer (the 2990 figure recorded was the net tonnage) was built at Newcastle by Hawthorn, Leslie in 1910 for William Milburn's Anglo-Australasian Steam Navigation Company of London.
This was one of the companies that amalgamated in 1914 to form the Commonwealth and Dominion Line The ship was sunk 18km off Cape Farewell, New Zealand, while on a voyage from Melbourne to London.
In 1920, its name passed to another steamer also built by Hawthorn, Leslie.
Sadly, this 8435gt vessel only had a brief career with the C&D Line.
It ran aground on a reef in the West Indies on July 8, 1926, when on a voyage from London to New Zealand.
Attempts at refloating the vessel were unsuccessful.
