Taio Shipping is a shipping company in the Cook Islands. It is the islands' main inter-island shipping company, and operates freight and passenger services between Rarotonga and the outer islands, with services once or twice a month to Atiu, Mitiaro, Mauke and Mangaia, once every two months to Penrhyn, Rakahanga and Manihiki, and once every two and a half months to Palmerston and Pukapuka.[1]
 MV Maungaroa II in Avatiu harbour, 2013 | |
| Industry | Transport |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1991 |
Area served | Cook Islands |
Key people | Teremoana Tapi Taio |
| Products | Sea transport |
History
edit
The company was established in 1991 when Teremoana Tapi Taio purchased a damaged boat, the Acadia, in Rarotonga and obtained a shipping licence.[2]
In September 2005 the Manu Nui ran out of fuel and drifted while travelling from Pukapuka to Rarotonga, after failing to refuel.[3][4]
In June 2006 Taio Shipping diverted the MV Maungaroa from its usual schedule for a charter for the producers of Survivor: Cook Islands, causing a fuel and electricity crisis on the island of Mangaia.[5]
In January 2008 the MV Maungaroa ran aground in Avatiu during a storm.[6]
In October 2010 the MV Te Kou Maru II was stranded on the reef at Mauke.[6] The wreck was left to rust for several years.[7]
In January 2017 the newly purchased MV Moana Nui was wrecked on a reef in Nassau.[8] An investigation attributed the wreck to lack of a detailed chart, inadequate radio communication, and lack of familiarity with the reef.[9] The wreck was still in place a year later.[10] A contract to salvage and remove the wreck was issued in November 2019.[11]
In September 2019 all of the company's ships were detained by the Cook Islands Ministry of Transport after a child was lost overboard from the MV Lady Moana while travelling from Rakahanga to Rarotonga.[12] A subsequent safety assessment by Maritime New Zealand found significant failings on the company's ships, and as a result the MV Grinna II was approved to carry only 12 passengers while the passenger licences for the MV Maungaroa II and MV Lady Moana were withdrawn.[13] While the ships were detained, the northern islands ran out of imported food and petrol.[14] In 2020 the MV Maungaroa II was taken out of service pending sale, and a larger vessel, the MV Maungaroa III, was purchased to replace it.[15]
On 21 March 2022 the Grinna II ran aground on the reef at Manihiki.[16] The vessel was deemed unsalvageable.[17]
Fleet
editCurrent
edit| Name | Built | In service | Gross tonnage | Passengers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MV Lady Moana | 1997 | 2013 - | 163 GT | 0 | Lost a child overboard at sea in 2019.[18] Passenger licence withdrawn 2019.[13] |
Past
edit| Name | Built | In service | Gross tonnage | Passengers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grinna II | 1980 | 2018 - 2022 | 283 GT | 12 | Wrecked at Manihiki March 2022 |
| Maungaroa II | 1978 | - 2019 | 153 GT | 0 | Passenger licence withdrawn 2019.[13] |
| MV Moana Nui | 1967[19] | 2016 - 2017 | 272 GT | 50 | Wrecked at Nassau January 2017[8] |
| MV Te Kou Maru II | 1977 | - 2010 | 153 GT | Wrecked at Mauke 2010 | |
| MV Maungaroa | 1967 | 1996 - 2008 | 220 GT | Wrecked at Rarotonga 2008 | |
| Manu Nui | 1960 | 2000 - | 465 GT | ||
| Acadia | 1991 - ? |
References
edit- ^ "Cook Islands Shipping Movements". 25 February 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
- ^ Katrina Tanirau (30 May 2020). "'Everything I've done has been for our people'". Cook Islands News. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
- ^ "Cooks ferry on the way back to Rarotonga after drifting without fuel". RNZ. 6 September 2005. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
- ^ "Cooks boat left island without required six tonnes of fuel". RNZ. 8 September 2005. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
- ^ "'SURVIVOR' GETS SUPPLIES, COOKS' MANGAIA DOESN'T". Pacific Islands Report. 9 June 2006. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
- ^ a b "CARGO SHIP AGROUND OFF COOKS' MAUKE ISLE". Pacific Islands Report. 11 October 2010. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
- ^ "Tapi Taio answers Mauke concerns". Cook Islands News. 9 January 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
- ^ a b "Grounding disrupts shipping in Cooks outer islands". RNZ. 1 February 2017. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
- ^ "Hopes Cooks govt takes heed of ship grounding report". RNZ. 10 April 2017. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
- ^ "Stranded vessel a problem for Northern Cook Islands". RNZ. 27 January 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
- ^ Melina Etches (19 November 2019). "$750k salvage job on remote Nassau". Cook Islands News. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
- ^ "Rarotonga overboard case: Kiwi boy Lapana Tupou feared dead, investigators detain ship". New Zealand Herald. 6 October 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
- ^ a b c Melina Etches (9 January 2020). "Ships' safety issues reported too late for little Lapana". Cook Islands News. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
- ^ "North islands run out of petrol". Cook Islands News. 2 November 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
- ^ Katrina Tanirau (27 May 2020). "New era of island shipping". Cook Islands News. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
- ^ Caleb Fotheringham (23 March 2022). "Shipping vessel runs aground on Manihiki coral reef". Cook Islands News. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
- ^ "New plans to be made for Grinna". Cook Islands News. 26 March 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
- ^ "South Auckland boy lost at sea after falling overboard on family trip to Rarotonga". New Zealand Herald. 29 September 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
- ^ "New ship for northern Cooks arrives in August". RNZ. 11 May 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2020.