Port of Tauranga has a new pilot launch, and it is aptly named after Tauranga's late pilot and tug master Troy Evans.

The new, bright yellow pilot launch was seen being escorted into port with a water spout welcome from the tugboats on Tuesday morning.

Built by Hart Marine in Melbourne, the pilot launch will be used to transfer pilots to and from incoming and outgoing vessels.

It is comprised of a composite hull and is 17.55m in length. Powered by a Volvo D16 750hp engines with 2x17" Deon water jets, the Troy Evans is capable of top speeds up to 30knots, is self-righting and able to handle all weather conditions, says the Port of Tauranga.

The Port of Tauranga has three purpose-built tugs and two pilot launches, providing a 24-hour, seven day service to ships entering and leaving the port.

Previously the Tauranga II, which was in operation on Tauranga harbour for 25 years was replaced by the $2 million Arataki which in arrived in 2010.

The 16.3m Arataki, powered by twin 750hp Scania V8 diesel engines driving fixed-pitch propellors, has a service speed of 25 knots, compared with the 18 knot speed of the port's previous pilot boat Tauranga II.

The port's back-up pilot vessel Te Awanui has also been used for hydro graphic survey work.

The new pilot launch being given a welcome by the tugboats on Tuesday morning. Photo: Kyle Bryant.

The new pilot launch, named for Troy Evans, will be a reminder of his service and commitment to bringing ships safely into port.

Troy had an unshakable ability to pilot despite being diagnosed with early onset Parkinson's disease and passing away in December 2021.

He had only been a few days in the job when the Rena struck Astrolabe Reef in 2011.

Interviewed by Stuff in 2017, he said 'it was my third day when the Rena wrecked. When that ship arrived it was considered big. It was only 236 metres long which shows how fast things have moved”.

The new pilot launch. Photo: Kyle Bryant.

In an obituary written on January 5 2022 for the Marine Pilots international network community website, Frank Diegel tells of his last encounter with Troy.

'I was very surprised when, in the last days of November last year [2021], I received a call via Facebook messenger from a familiar contact on the other side of the world. It was Troy Evans, a captain and pilot in the port of Tauranga, in northern New Zealand. I had never heard his real voice before, although I had already communicated with him so much via the internet.

'His voice sounded familiar. I didn't quite understand what the real reason for his call was. His voice was a bit weak, but he was keen to speak to me in person. He thanked me for my work and for initiating our website, just as I thanked him for his great contributions to the safety of pilots worldwide, which we put out into the world. The messenger call had then left me a little perplexed, ashamed and also a little distraught after we had finished it. It sounded very much like a goodbye.

Troy Evans in 2017. Photo: Christel Yardley/ Stuff.

'I knew that he had been struggling with the treacherous disease Parkinson's for some years. I had not yet fully understood the full implications of first and last call, but I had been very moved by it. Today, it concerns me even more than it did in November last year.

'It was only when the first news of his death reached me on 30 December that I fully understood why he had called me. He had finished with his life at that time and he was aware of his imminent death. That makes this conversation we had all the more weighty and I will never forget it.”

The two tugs Tai Pari and her sister vessel Tai Timu arrived in Tauranga in 2015, as part of the port's $350 million investment in its infrastructure as it worked to position itself as the North Island port capable of handling the larger containers ships that were expected in the future.

At the time, the two new vessels, joining the port's existing tug 'Sir Robert' were a significant upgrade to the existing fleet and expected to serve the Port for the following 25 years.

Port of Tauranga, established in the 1950s, is the country's largest port by total cargo tonnes and land area.

The first big cruise ship, Ovation of the Seas, at the time the fourth largest cruise ship in the world, cruised into Tauranga for the first time in 2016.

Since then there have been many visits by cruise ships and the port has become far busier with commercial shipping.

And in the midst of this busy-ness, the legacy of Troy Evans will live on.

Troy Evans in 2017. Photo: Christel Yardley/ Stuff.

Frank writes of his great respect 'for the man Troy Evans and what he did for the safety of pilots all over the world”.

'He deserves not to be forgotten and he will continue to be with us in our lives with the results of his work,” says Frank in the obituary.

'I would like to thank Troy today for what he has left us. We will cherish his work and I will never tire of spreading the word about his results and experiences.

'The international pilotage community has lost a great campaigner for greater safety on pilot ladders in Capt Troy Evans.”

Frank says somehow it made sense that the ladder used by sea pilots to board ships is called Jacob's Ladder.

'It leads them out of the stormy waters and into the safety of the huge ships. And the job of the pilots on the ship is to bring the ship safely into port. Troy Evans has made his final port of call, and I hope he is now in a better world for it. I will never forget him.”