Turkey:Port Taranaki’s newest tug has been officially welcomed, blessed and named.
The Turkish built tug Kīnaki, which arrived in Taranaki on July 24 from Lyttelton, has been in use for a couple of weeks, but got the fancy part of its welcome to the area on Friday.
Rev Albie Martin was there to bless the little boat along with representatives from Ngati Te Whiti Hapu, port representatives and the Turkish charge d’affaires Sadillah Uzun.
“With my age the old brain is saying ‘come on body you can do it’, but the old body is saying to the brain ‘watch it’,” Martin said.
Despite the challenge he knew it was something that needed to be done.
“Anything that first comes into the country, whether they’re dignitaries or a new innovation, in Maori culture they must be first and foremost welcomed,” Martin said.
“In this case the vessel, because it’s manned by the New Zealand team, or Taranaki team, it must be blessed to protect through the seas. I welcomed it on behalf of our people.”
Port Taranaki chief executive Guy Roper said the port was “delighted to adopt” the name Kīnaki when they learned the significance.
Kīnaki is the name of two stones, also known as mouri that are located in the breakwater of Port Taranaki.
Roper said Kīnaki would continue to have great meaning for the operations at the port.
Marine Planner Hannah Haskell had the honour of completing the official naming of Kīnaki by breaking a champagne bottle on the side of the vessel.
She said she had been a little bit anxious about performing the task as the choppy seas turned the tug into a moving target.
