A new 1,000-cubic-metre trailing suction hopper dredger (TSHD) ordered by New Zealand’s Port Otago and Napier Port is undergoing sea trials at 189 Shipyard in Vietnam, with arrival at Port Chalmers now expected in February 2027.
Port Otago said late last week that Kapuka's revised timetable gives [the builder] a buffer to finish the final elements to the same high standard they have maintained throughout the build."
The trials followed the vessel's launch and quayside outfitting and commissioning. These included operation at full speed while fully loaded, a six-hour endurance test that analysed vibration and noise, and dredging.
Port Otago reported a loaded speed of just under 10 knots and said the dredger, "loaded a full hopper of thick clay with ease."
The two ports' oversight team will return to the yard in mid-November for its last acceptance visit.
The vessel is scheduled for a hull clean and finishing work on its underwater systems before she sails for New Zealand, with the work set for early December.
The ports formed a joint venture in December 2024 to build and purchase the NZ$36 million (US$20 million) dredger, with Port Otago responsible for its management and operation. The builder received the order the following month.
Kapuka has a length of 58.7 metres, a beam of 12.2 metres, a depth of 4.5 metres, and a deadweight of 1,400 tonnes. Propulsion is via twin azimuthing thrusters supplemented by a bow thruster, and pump performance is approximately 2,000 cubic metres per hour.
Kapuka will undertake maintenance, capital and emergency dredging at both ports. She will eventually replace Port Otago's 850-cubic-metre TSHD New Era, which was built at Port Chalmers in 1985.
