The Raroa which will arrive in Nelson within the next few weeks to undergo a reported $80 million worth of repairs.

Parts arrive for $80m ship repair

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Parts have arrived in Nelson for an $80 million ship repair job that will see around 200 workers fly into the city.

The 250 metre long oil storage ship Raroa will be repaired in Nelson this month and it will be the biggest ship to ever come to Nelson.

Port Nelson won the contract to fix the ship last month and on Friday a ship carrying parts for the Raroa sailed into town, in preparation for the repair.

Port Nelson chief executive Martin Byrne says the Raroa should arrive in Nelson within the next few weeks and the job is a huge boost for the port and the wider community.

“We’re very pleased and it is certainly significant for us.”

The ship is owned by OMV New Zealand and operates at the Maari off shore oil field, off the Taranaki coast. Nelson beat Port Taranaki for the rights to berth the ship while it is repaired.

Martin says around 200 workers from around New Zealand will fly to Nelson for the repair, which is expected to take between three and five weeks. “They’ve all got to find places to stay and suchlike so it will be good for Nelson.”

He says Nelson won the contract for various reasons including the city’s sheltered harbour, favourable weather conditions and the quality of the support businesses at Port Nelson and he hopes it could lead to more.

“We certainly hope it opens the door for more big projects like this, these specific projects with vessels like these are very unusual because once they go into operation they’re not designed to come back into port but they’ve had some unusual issues with it.”

Locals will only be able to get a good view of the ship as it enters and leaves the port through the Cut, or from the Port Hills, while it is in port. “It will certainly be an impressive sight,” says Martin.

In announcing the repair work, OMV said there would be a refurbishment and upgrade of processing equipment and the installation of a new swivel, which allows the vessel to rotate around its mooring.

Once the work is complete the Raroa will return to its permanent location in the Maari oil field, New Zealand’s largest off shore oil field.