Fourteen years in the ship building industry has given Shipco solid skills in heavy fabrication. The company is taking on more heavy engineering projects together with its shipbuilding activities. General Manager Kelvin Hardie says the company now aims to divide its energies between its successful ship building work and heavy engineering. The company produces a range of anchor mooring winches, tow
ing winches and deck winches. It also offers a range of standard ship assist tugs (20 tonne BP to 85 tonne BP) ocean going tugs (24m to 40m), and work boats of 7m to 20m. One of New Zealand’s most experienced commercial steel ship builder’s, Shipco has its own design office and Naval Architect staff. Extensive experience in steel fabrication – in its first five years the company fabricated some 5,200 tonnes – means Shipco is well equipped to handle heavy fabrication work of any kind. Its marine origins are evident, not just in the name but in its day to day work. Some of Shipco’s most successful output today is workboats and tugs. It s 7000 square metre waterfront base in Whangarei Harbour has facilities capable of launching vessels up to 110m in length, 30m in beam and weighing up to 2,500 tonnes, with a draft of 4.5m. Shipco’s reputation is based on its production of quality vessels and equipment at competitive prices, delivered on time. A history of major marine construction has put Whangarei’s Shipco on the map. Recent projects include a 42m vehicular ferry for Blakely Pacific, four large anchor/mooring windlasses for Sea-Tow barges and a 24m ship assist harbour tug with a 60 tonne bollard pull for the Port of Otago. The company has built 78 vessels since 1990, including New Zealand’s largest barge “Sea-Tow 4” at 97m length overall, 24 metre beam and a lightship weight of 1,980 tonnes which was built in 20 weeks and to budget . The company specialises in “inhouse” design using CAD and can supply design services separately. The company designed and built 21 barges and six tugboats for New Caledonia’s nickel ore trade. Shipco has also exported two 55m split hopper barges to Australia. Shipco undertakes conversion work. Past projects include lengthening of barges, converting a barge to a tank barge and modifying a container carrying ship into a sand dredger. This is an abridged version of an article that appeared in the Auckland Today magazine.
