Port of Tauranga's new tug Tai Pari arrived today following a 30-day voyage from builder Cheoy Lee's yard in Hong Kong.

She will be joined at the end of the month by her stable mate Tai Timu.

Port of Tauranga's new tug, Tai Pari. Photo: Bruce Barnard.

The new tugs form part of a $20 million project for the Port of Tauranga and represent one aspect of the ongoing $350 million capital expenditure programme.

This includes the $30 million Sulphur Point wharf extension, another $12 million Liebherr Post-Panamax container crane, six more straddle carriers ($1 million each) and a $50 million harbour dredging programme that will increase the depth from 12.9m to 16m.

The new tug is easy to find, and has been painted in the same rescue yellow as the pilot boat Arataki.

Tai Pari will have a quiet weekend, but is expected to start training with the port's tug crews next week before beginning work later this month.

'We have to change the registration over to New Zealand, and get all the certification from Maritime New Zealand,” says Port of Tauranga operations manager Phil Julian.

'We also have to train and familiarise our guys.”

The Tai Pari has had a month of running and the engines didn't miss a beat during the delivery voyage, says Phil.

'It all went really well,” he adds. 'It was a very small boat in a big ocean, so it made for an interesting trip.”

Project engineer Rhys Casley (left) and operations manager Phil Julian. Photo: Bruce Barnard.

Building Tai Pari and Tai Timu in Hong Kong is a departure for the port company, which has until now built its tugs in Whangarei. The last one was 12-year-old Sir Robert.

In part, the decision was based on manufacturing capacity, but cost is also a factor, says Phil. Much of the componentry is manufactured in bulk in China.

'This is a tug in a series of 70 that have already been built, and that all adds to production,” says Phil.

'These guys specialise. The tug company we are building with have a huge amount of experience, knowledge and capability. It's a highly sophisticated tug and these guys are good at building them.”

The tugs are azimuth stern drives - the same configuration as the Sir Robert. Power is delivered through shrouded propellor housings on ‘stalks' that can be rotated through 360 degrees, meaning the tug can move at full power in any direction.

It's a style the port is familiar with, and provides a highly manoeuvrable, powerful tug for its 24m size. The new tugs will also have a 74-tonne bollard pull.

The Tai Pari and her sister ship Tai Timu are built by Cheoy Lee of Hong Kong and will take over from the blue boats, some of which are now on the market.

The Matua has been sold to another New Zealand port, and Phil is open to offers on the Kaimai.

The Tai Timu is expected to arrive from Hong Kong either at the end of June or the beginning of July.

Photo: Supplied.