Centreport selects Q-West to build pilot boat

New Zealand’s Centreport has selected Q-West Boat Builders of Whanganui, New Zealand to build a new jet-powered pilot boat capable of speeds up to 31 knots to operate in the Port of Wellington.

The pilot boat will be built to a Camarc design and is expected to be delivered in August 2017.

The new vessel is part of Centreport’s investment strategy designed to support the port’s growth.

“With superior manoeuvrability in mind we decided the new vessel should be jet powered. Its increased size will enable pilots to embark and disembark ships further out in the Cook Strait,” said Centreport’s chief executive, Derek Nind.

The vessel will have an operational speed of 24 knots and a maximum speed of about 31 knots. The present pilot vessel, ‘Tarakena’, has a speed of only 15 knots.

Q-West also built Centreport’s existing pilot vessel, along with the Wellington-based Maritime Police vessel ‘Lady Elizabeth IV’.