The 294m Shiling was anchored at Tasman Bay after losing power and steering off the coast of Farewell Spit.
Photo: Vessel Finder
The stricken container vessel MV Shiling is under tow and on its way to Wellington.
Maritime New Zealand expects it will take about 20 to 25 hours to get the vessel from its current location in Tasman Bay to Wellington Harbour.
The Shiling put out a mayday call when it lost power and steering, 22 nautical miles north west of Farewell Spit on 12 April.
The Shiling and Skandi Emerald have been located in Tasman Bay, north of Nelson for just over a week.
Maritime New Zealand incident controller David Billington said moving the Shiling was a top priority and the ship’s owners had been working with the Skandi Emerald had worked with a towage expert to prepare the transportation plan.
Weather conditions in Tasman Bay, the Cook Strait and Wellington have been taken into account when planning the voyage.
A 500 metre exclusion zone was in place around the towage operation for the journey to Wellington.
Wellington Harbourmaster Grant Nalder said the Shiling has to travel around 120 nautical miles to get back into the harbour.
“Once they get to Wellington there’ll be pilots boarding from CentrePort and Wellington tugs will be assisting, they’ll tow it up the harbour and berth on the main wharf at Aotea Quay.”
He said the ship has a problem with its main engine and its crew had done assessments, with technical support and spare parts on the way to Wellington.
It was not known how long it will remain at CentrePort.
Nalder said the Shiling was berthed in Wellington for three weeks earlier in the year while repair work was done.