Tasman Orient Line

Tasman Orient Line operated general cargo ships between New Zealand and Asia for ten years. In July 1999 the operations of Tasman Asia Shipping and New Zealand Orient Line were merged. In September 2009 Swire Shipping took over Tasman Orient Line and slowly merged the service into its network. But the fairly sporadic service of Swire Shipping today is a far cry from the liner service offered by Tasman Orient Line. Old-timers told me that the New Zealand Orient Line services were even more reliable.

Agency services in New Zealand were handled by Quadrant Pacific Agencies, a subsidiary of Tasman Orient Line. I worked for Tasman Orient Line indirectly in the management of its container fleet and later as port agent for Quadrant Pacific Agencies in Timaru, where Tasman Orient ships were the mainstay of our activities. The transit shed at Primeport Timaru even had a large advertisement for Tasman Orient Line on one of its walls [Aug 2007].

Tasman Orient Line operated three different trades, all interconnecting at various ports. The North Asia service connected New Zealand with northern China, South Korea and Japan. The East Asia service linked New Zealand with southern China (including Hong Kong), Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. The South East Asia Service went to Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand and also provided tranship opportunities to the Philipines, Vietnam, India and Pakistan. The East Asia and South East Asia services combined on the southbound leg and also called in Noumea and Fiji.

One of the main export commodities from New Zealand on all trades was medium density fibreboard (MDF). The service had a strong relationship with the forestry products exporter Carter Holt Harvey, but also carried products of other exporters. Here we see MDF being stowed in the hold of the Tasman Discoverer in Timaru [Oct 2005]. The stevedores are securing the stow with chains and strops. Some of the ship's crew are inflating air bags in some of the gaps to secure the stow.

When I started working in Timaru in 2004 only the North Asia service regularly called in Timaru. Ships were on a two-monthly schedule. For a short time there were six ships on the North Asia service, before a four-ship service bedded in. The port rotation in New Zealand was: Auckland - Timaru - Wellington - (Marsden Point) - Tauranga. The four ships on the main service in 2004 were the Tasman Explorer, the Tasman Voyager, the Tasman Discoverer, and the Tasman Adventurer, all chartered from the German shipowner Egon Oldendorff. These were well-operated ships with international crew. Unfortunately, I don't have picture of the Tasman Voyager, even though it was the first ship I did a solo on, that is I was the main port agent. Here the Tasman Explorer arrives in Timaru on its last voyage under Tasman Orient colours. I was in the company of some nice Filipina ladies waiting to join their husbands when I took this picture [Sep 2004].

My favourite Tasman Orient ship was definitely the Tasman Discoverer. I had many good meals on it and enjoyed the company of mostly Polish captains. There were few problems with the ship and cargo operations were normally quite predictable. The Tasman Discoverer arrives in Timaru on a dreary morning [Aug 2004].

But the weather can be a lot better in Timaru. Here's a side view of the Tasman Discoverer, berthed on Nort Mole Inner. As can be seen from this view, the Tasman Discoverer had three cranes and four holds. [Oct 2004].

A lot of steel was transported by ships from Asia, particularly on the North Asia service. Here is the hold of the Tasman Discoverer with most of the steel already discharged. Some of the lines were quite small, for example 5 bundles, so that it was always a job getting the discharge list finalized and the cargo located. [Aug 2004].

The Tasman Discoverer heads away from Timaru on a winter morning, as the first morning light appears between the ocean and the clouds. [Jun 2005].

Minutes later the sun sends brilliant rays of light over the sea [Jun 2005].

The sister ship of the Tasman Discoverer was the Tasman Adventurer, also chartered from Egon Oldendorff.

The sun is setting as one of the last containers is loaded on board the Tasman Adventurer in Timaru. Pilot, crew, agent and stevedores alike are eager for operations to finish so that the ship can sail and everybody can get on with whatever else they have planned for the evening. [Sep 2004].

It is already dark by the time the Tasman Adventurer left the wharf [Sep 2004].

The harbour tug Te Maru, at that stage the only tug in Timaru, helped to move the Tasman Adventurer from the wharf. The pilot boat Ohau helped to move ships in the tight turning basin. Some captains were somewhat uncomfortable with the arrangement and would have preferred a second tug. These days, of course, Primeport Timaru has two tugs.

Once the Tasman Explorer and Tasman Voyager went off charter, their slots on the North Asia service were filled by the Tasman Independence and the Tasman Resolution. The two ships had previously operated a trial service to North China for a few months and were now integrated into the main North Asia service. Here the Tasman Independence arrives at Timaru one summer evening. [Feb 2006].

When approaching the port of Timaru along the shipping channel, ships have to turn slightly towards the port side as they come close to the breakwater.

Executing this turn was the Tasman Independence. The ships is therefore slightly leaning to port in this picture. [Oct 2007].

The two gantry cranes of the Tasman Independence can be clearly seen in this view. They were secured just ahead of the bridge when the ship was at sea. As there were only two cranes, just two of the four hatches could be worked at a time. It took some time to secure the gantry cranes before sailing and the aft crane had to be stowed before the forward crane. This required some planning of the port call and cargo operations.

Here the tug is alongside the Tasman Independence as it enters the port. [Oct 2007].

The sister ship of the Tasman Independence was the Tasman Resolution. With their square hatches they were well suited for steel cargoes. Here the Tasman Resolution arrives in Timaru on boxing day after waiting at anchor on Christmas day. [Dec 2005].

The Tasman Resolution and the Tasman Independence were crewed by Russians. We got to know some of the crew quite well, especially some of the captains, who were on the ships for six months or more. The ships themselves were managed from Cyprus.

Here, the Tasman Resolution is berthed on North Mole Inner. The aft crane has already been stowed, the forward crane is still working. I had to rush off to the sailing of a product tanker before returning to the Tasman Resolution. [Dec 2004].

After the product tanker had sailed, it was time for the Tasman Resolution to leave the wharf. Note the stowage of the jib crane near the bow of the ship. It had to be used to reach the containers in the very forward part of the ship. It could also be used in hatch #2. [Dec 2004].

But the Tasman Resolution not only saw sunny days. Indeed, she was known as a cursed ship. So many things went wrong. In the time I was working for Tasman Orient Line, two seafarers died on board the Tasman Resolution. One seafarer commited apparent suicide, another was run over by one of the gantry cranes. The Tasman Resolution had other mishaps. She struck and cut loose a buoy in Timaru. On a stormy night she struck the starboard side light at the entrance to Timaru Harbour. She also ran aground in Tauranga. Here she arrives under cloudy skies in Timaru. [Aug 2004].

It was not very often that two Tasman Orient ships were in Timaru at the same time, but it did happen. The Tasman Resolution and the Tasman Provider were in Timaru together in 2007. I was also looking after a product tanker in port at that time, so it was a very busy day. Here's a view of the two ships in port. [Mar 2007].

Here's a shot showing the poop of the Tasman Resolution, with the Tasman Providerin the background. [Mar 2007].

The two ships were in port for nearly two days. They even left within a few hours of each other. Here's a picture as cargo operations continued during the night [Mar 2007].

In 2007 the Tasman Adventurer and Tasman Discoverer were replaced by the new Tasman Voyager and Tasman Explorer. These two ships were bigger than any others previously used by Tasman Orient Line.

They also had heavy-lift cranes. Unfortunately, that made them very slow during cargo operations. Slowing cargo operations even further were hatch lids that had to be moved by crane (rather than being pneumatic) and the gap between containers, so that containers could not be easily placed by crane. Here the Tasman Voyager arrives in Timaru and moves towards the North Mole after turning in the harbour. [Nov 2007].

Often the mobile harbour crane was used to speed up cargo operations. It not only discharged and loaded containers, but was also ideal to discharge some of the large vehicles, like this bus from China, which has just been unloaded from the Tasman Voyager [Nov 2007].

The two ships were operated by German ship management company Columbia. They were generally well run and probably the cleanest of the ships in Tasman Orient Line service. They also carried passengers, just like the earlier Tasman Voyager and Tasman Explorer, as well as the Tasman Adventurer and the Tasman Discoverer. But the new ships had a few more comforts such as an enclosed sun deck, a swimming pool, and a library.

Here the Tasman Explorer is still far out at sea, coming towards Timaru [Apr 2008].

The East Asia service only started calling Timaru in 2005. The port rotation for this service in New Zealand was: Auckland - Wellington - Timaru - Bluff - Nelson - Napier - Tauranga.

Because it made so many port calls in New Zealand it was a popular service for coastal cargo, but it also required careful planning and often a lot of restows. The ships on this service were the Tasman Provider, the Tasman Endeavour, the Tasman Trader, and the Tasman Pathfinder. Here, the Tasman Provider is berthed at the North Mole Inner in Timaru. [Sep 2005].

Often, heavy machinery was discharged in Timaru, like this dump truck being unloaded from the Tasman Provider.

As the truck weighed over 40 tonnes, two cranes had to be used. The two cranes were attached to an equalising beam, one at each end. Chains were then attached to the equalising beam and the truck. The two crane drivers had to work in tandem to discharge the truck safely. The hatchman gave directions to the two crane drivers via radio. Such a lift was normally quite slow. [Sep 2005].

On a nice summer evening the Tasman Provider has finished cargo operations and is waiting for the pilot to board. The gangway has already been lifted from the wharf, but still hangs over the ship's side. The net has also been removed from the gangway.

In the days when port agents were still allowed to drive on the wharf, the port agent's (my) car is parked by the gangway, indicator lights flashing. Note the stow of Tasman Orient reefers on the poop deck. [Jan 2006].

The Tasman Provider was another of my favourite ships. It had sufficient cranes to work the cargo quickly, was well maintained and run. In addition to that, for a long time it had a German cook, who baked excellent bread.

Here the Tasman Provider arrives in Timaru on a sunny morning. The pilot launch Ohau stands by to push the Tasman Provider as it turns in the harbour basin [Mar 2007].

This picture shows both the tug Te Maru and the launch Ohau assisting the Tasman Provider. [Mar 2007].

Snow has already fallen on the mountains of South Canterbury, just visible in the background. A few reefer containers have been loaded on board the Tasman Provider. They probably contained frozen fish. Another row would be loaded on top of these, before the ship set sail. [May 2008].

This was the last Tasman Orient Line ship I ever was port agent for. The Tasman Provider has left the wharf and is sailing for Bluff. It was the goodbye to Tasman Orient Line ships for me [May 2008].

Normally ships were berthed on North Mole Inner "port side to", that is the port side was alongside the wharf. In this view the Tasman Endeavour was berthed starboard side to.

This was done to facilitate cargo operations. If most of the cargo to be discharged in Timaru was on the starboard side, or a large piece of cargo had to be loaded or discharged on the starboard side, the normal berthing position was changed. Generally, the pilots preferred to turn the ship on arrival and berth port side to. [Apr 2006].

East Asia ships came directly from Wellington, just 14 hours away. Therefore, the pilot and labour often had to be ordered even before the vessel left Wellington. Sometimes that meant that the ship arrived later than expected. Here, the Tasman Endeavour approaches Timaru somewhat late, but nevertheless early in the morning. [Oct 2007].

The Tasman Endeavour has arrived in port.

Like its sister ship, the Tasman Provider, the Tasman Endeavour was also chartered from Swire Shipping, one of the shareholders of Tasman Orient Line. [Oct 2007].

As Bluff is a tidal port, East Asia ships always had to leave in good time to arrive in the appropriate window in Bluff. Sometimes, if the ships had a shallow draft, they were able to enter at low tide, but generally the high tide window was preferred.

Here, the Tasman Endeavour leaves Timaru for Bluff. [Oct 2007].

The worst ship in the Tasman Orient fleet was without doubt the infamous Tasman Trader. The rust peeled off in many places, the cranes were disfunctional, the hatch covers often did not work. We received many complaints from the stevedores about the conditions on board the Tasman Trader, but little was changed over the years. Even Maritime New Zealand once asked the cranes to be improved, but little changed. This picture shows the Tasman Trader arriving in Timaru. [Jan 2006].

In early 2007 the Tasman Trader went to drydock. Out of the morning mist appeared a splendidly looking blue ship. It looked as if major work had been done.

But as work began on the ship it soon became clear that it was only a paint job. Not much on the Tasman Trader had changed [Mar 2007]. However, ship management of the Tasman Trader changed from Asian crew to Croatian crew. It did nothing to improve maintenance or crew response. But it did mean that the crew talked back, complaining about the stevedores in turn.

A lot of the import cargo on Tasman Orient Line ships was steel.

These steel beams were discharge off the Tasman Trader in Timaru. [May 2007].

Another product frequently carried was concrete pipes. These were required for several sewage projects in Dunedin and Christchurch and were imported from Thailand. Special lifting strops were used to handle the concrete pipes. Here we see a load being discharge from the Tasman Trader. [May 2007].

The Tasman Pathfinder was quite similar in design to the Tasman Trader. But it was better maintained.

Still, the crew was usually not very responsive. The Tasman Pathfinder had two or three Korean officers, including the captain, and Indonesian crew. The Korean officers autocratically ordered the crew around, and the Indonesians hustled about bowing and catowing. If similar crew relationships exist on board shipping vessels, I can easily imagine abuse and disfunction.
Here, the Tasman Pathfinder is accompanied by the tug Te Maru on its arrival in Timaru. [Jun 2005].

As the ship comes alongside, lines are thrown onto the wharf, where they are hauled ashore and made fast by linesmen.

Here Primeport Timaru linesmen wait for the next line to be thrown from the Tasman Pathfinder. [Jun 2005].

The Tasman Pathfinder sits in Timaru on a sunny morning [Oct 2005].

The Tasman Pathfinder several times called Timaru, when the East Asia service schedule did not include Timaru in its port rotation. The ship was diverted a few times to Timaru on its way to Bluff. However, this photo shows the Tasman Pathfinder arriving in Timaru on one of its scheduled port calls in 2007. [Oct 2007].

On this occasion the Tasman Pathfinder berthed starboard side to. With this picture from an overcast day, I'll end the Tasman Orient Line page. [Oct 2007]. It was a valuable shipping service while it lasted and an interesting operation to be involved with.

All that remains is to mention the names of the ships on the South East Asia service: Tasman Challenger, Tasman Campaigner, and Tasman Mariner. Their port rotation in New Zealand was Auckland - Tauranga - Wellington - New Plymouth. While the Tasman Pioneer came to Timaru, that was before my days. After it sunk in Japan, no other Tasman Orient ship ever received that name.

In addition, I include pictures of the two Quadrant Pacific offices, from where we operated. First, is the office in the shack on No.1 wharf. The other office was the top floor of a building of engineering firm Wallace & Cooper. The main shipping company in Timaru is without doubt the global container line Maersk sealand which has weekly and fortnightly services calling in Timaru.