New boat bound for Nauru

JARED NICOLL

Replacement: The new pilot boat for Nauru built by Cuddon and Beach Road Marine will be leaving for the island nation later this month

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Another boat built jointly by Cuddon and Waikawa boat builders Beach Road Marine will be leaving for Nauru this month.

The boat, worth about $750,000, will serve as the island's only search and rescue boat as well as ferrying island crew to and from cargo ships and helping push vessels into shipping lanes using its purpose-built square bow. The boat replaces the island's current pilot boat, which is ridden with rust and can only be used 20 minutes at a time because it takes on too much water.

Cuddon had also been asked to price the cost of building buoys for the island, Mr Norton said.

Mr Norton and three other Cuddon staff will be travelling with the boat to help with the delivery and service its two other barges. While it would be nice to escape the New Zealand winter, two weeks on a tropical island was not quite as idyllic as it sounded, he said. "Nauru used to be one of the richest Pacific nations, now it's one of the poorest; it's a working island.

"The temperature is 35 degrees and inside the boats it gets up to 55 degrees so it's not pleasant working conditions, but we do go for a swim at the end of the day and that's lovely."

- The Marlborough Express

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