King Kong boat scuttled
The Manuia goes down
The former cargo ship and ‘King Kong’ boat Manuia was scuttled in Cook Strait yesterday, ending the final chapter of a 54-year old boat with a curious history. View photos of the scuttling
CentrePort’s tug Toia was used to tow the Manuia 37 nautical miles out to the approved scuttling position in the southern part of the “Explosives Dumping Ground” in Cook Strait.
The ship arrived at the scuttling position at 1155, and after the sea valves were opened the ship sank at 1255pm.
Prior to scuttling the ship, Greater Wellington had to obtain a permit from Maritime New Zealand, which required the removal of all oils, contaminants and floatable material prior to scuttling.
“By the time we towed the vessel to its final resting place it was basically a wreck,” Harbourmaster Captain Mike Pryce says.
He says Greater Wellington supported efforts by groups to use the ship as a dive site, but ultimately nothing eventuated. A proposal to use it as an attraction in a waterfront aquarium had also been abandoned.
“In the absence of an alternative viable proposition, disposing the vessel was our only option and absolutely essential to minimise the likelihood of any environmental damage to Wellington Harbour,” Captain Pryce says.
The Manuia was built in 1956 in Holland and started life as Auriga for Swedish owners.
The vessel arrived in Auckland in June 1990 from Australia with a cargo of explosives for the Royal New Zealand Navy. It was detained by the authorities after being found to be unseaworthy, with a hole in a ballast tank and various other defects.
A few months later it was sold to Manuia Shipping Ltd and renamed Manuia. It was sold again in 1994 and in 1996 was prepared for service as a tuna fishing vessel.
In 2003 the Manuia was purchased for use in the re-make of the film "King Kong" and by 2004 she had been transformed into the s.s. Venture for the "King Kong" role.
In March 2005, the ship sailed from Wellington for two weeks of filming but crew were forced to abandon ship when she sprung a leak and began to take on water off Kapiti Island.