Tender Accepted For Cook Strait Ferry

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29263, 22 July 1960, Page 20

Tender Accepted For Cook Strait Ferry

(New Zealand l J resi Association)

WELLINGTON, July 21. The Cook Strait rail-road ferry, to be owned and operated by the Railways Department, will be built by William Denny and Brothers, Ltd., of Dumbarton, Scotland. The complete delivered cost of the ferry will be £1,800,000 compared with the original estimate of £2,000,000. Announcing the success!)

tenderer today, the Minister of Railways (Mr Moohan) said the contract provided for the completion of the vessel at the builder's yard, ready for the voyage to New Zealand, within 20 months of the acceptance of the tender. The vessel is expected to arrive at Wellington in May, 1962. The diesel-electric propulsion machinery will be supplied by the English Electric Company, Ltd., of England, as sub-contrac-tors to the shipbuilders. Mr Moohan said that 15 shipbuilders had submitted 33 separate prices. The tendering and the deliveries offered had been very keen.

The cost included specified items to be supplied by the owner, consultants’ fees, incidentals and contingencies. The contract price for the construction of the ship was a fixed one. “I am delighted with the splendid progress we are making in bridging Cook Strait with an up-to-date ‘roll on-roll ofT vessel It is less than a year since the. General Manager of Railways returned from overseas and reported to me on the project I had in mind.

“The ship we consider will best meet our conditions will be in daily service in less than two years from now. By then we will be wondering why we did without such a vital link between the islands for so long.” Shore Installations

Extensive shore installations had to be provided at Picton and Wellington to berth the vessel Loading and unloading of railway waggons, motor-cars, and road vehicles was through a stern door. The vessel would approach her berth stem first and a hinged

link span, carrying a flush decked roadway with a single railway track, would be lowered and fixed by a pin to the stern of the vessel. The slope of the link span would vary according .to the state of the tide.

Passengers not travelling by motor-car would board the vessel by a gangway at the side of the ship in the normal manner.

Plans fof the new berth at Picton were well advanced and it was expected an early start would be made with the work. “At Wellington the selection of a site for the berthage of the vessel with adequate rail and road access and on shore car and lorry parking facilities is more difficult

“Alternative sites are being investigated and the general manager of railways is continuing negotiations with the Harbour Board. Every urgency is being given this matter. Builders’ Record “The sucessful tenderers are a long established ship-building firm with • works established adjacent to the Clyde and 15 miles out of Glasgow. The firm is one of the few ship building yards with its own experimental tank for making trials of models of the ships it builds. They developed the Denny Brown stabiliser now fitted to all modern passenger vessels. They have built train ferries for the British Railways,

"The contractors for the propulsion machinery, English Electric, Ltd, provided the first dieselelectric locomotives introduced into the New Zealand Railways," Mr Moohan said.