Aramoana (ferry)
 Aramoana and sister ship Aranui (pictured) are built to the same basic design | |
| Career | Template:Country data NZL |
|---|---|
| Name: | GMV Aramoana |
| Builder: | William Denny & Brothers Ltd |
| Cost: | $NZ 4 million |
| Yard number: | 1502 |
| Completed: | 1961 |
| In service: | 1962 |
| Fate: | Laid up 1983, sold 1984 |
| Status: | Scrapped at Alang in 1994 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage: | 4,160 GT (gross tonnage) |
| Length: | 112.2 metres (368 ft) |
| Beam: | 18.6 metres (61 ft) |
| Propulsion: | English Electric six in number 16 cylinder 4 stroke turbocharged 16 CSVM diesel 10" x 21" design 900rpm, service 700rpm. Electric drive to 2 shafts. |
| Speed: | 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph) |
| Capacity: |
788 passengers 30 railroad cars 70 automobiles |
The GMV (Government Motor Vessel) Aramoana ("Sea Pathway" in the Māori language) was a roll-on roll-off train ferry in service for the New Zealand Railways Department inter-island services (later known as the Interislander) between 1962 and 1983. The ferry was built in 1961 to introduce an inter-island service for the railways between the North and South Islands of New Zealand, linking the New Zealand rail network between the islands for the first time. In 1965, she was joined by the similar, but slightly larger, Aranui.
In 1983, both Aramoana and Aranui were replaced by the significantly larger MV Arahura and were sold to the Najd Trading & Construction Company of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in 1984. Aramoana was initially renamed Captain Nicolas V and renamed again the following year to Najd II. Aramoana was finally laid up at the United Arab Emirates port of Ajman in 1993. In 1994 the 32 year old vessel left Ajman towed by a tug and was broken up on Alang beach on the western shore of the Gulf of Khambhat in Gujarat state, India.
References
- New Zealand Maritime Index: MV Aramoana
- Cook Strait Rail Ferries - New Zealand History Online
