''Hikitia'' is a self-propelled floating steam crane in

Wellington Harbour Wellington Harbour ( ), officially called Wellington Harbour / Port Nicholson, is a large natural harbour on the southern tip of New Zealand's North Island. The harbour entrance is from Cook Strait. Central Wellington is located on parts of ...

, New Zealand. She is thought to be the only working steam crane of her type in the world. She is also the sister ship to the '' Rapaki'', formerly of the Port of Lyttelton, which was put on display at the

New Zealand Maritime Museum The New Zealand Maritime Museum Hui Te Ananui A Tangaroa is a maritime museum in Auckland, New Zealand. It is located on Hobson Wharf, adjacent to the Viaduct Harbour in central Auckland. It houses exhibitions spanning New Zealand's maritime hist ...

after being taken out of service, and then scrapped in January 2019. Some parts from ''Rapaki'' were given to ''Hikitia''.

Delivery voyage

The ''Hikitia'' was built by

Fleming & Ferguson Fleming and Ferguson was a Scottish Marine propulsion, marine engineering and shipbuilding company that traded between 1877 and 1969. History 1877–1914 William Y. Fleming and Peter Ferguson (1840–1911) founded the company in Paisley, Renfre ...

of Paisley, Scotland. After completing trials, the vessel left

Greenock Greenock (; ; , ) is a town in Inverclyde, Scotland, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The town is the administrative centre of Inverclyde Council. It is a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, and forms ...

on 29 September 1926. The delivery voyage took 82 days, travelling via the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

to reach New Zealand. The vessel travelled with the crane fully erected, and arrived in

on 21 December 1926.

Engines

Twin screws are driven by surface-condensing direct-drive

compound engine A compound engine is an engine that has more than one stage for recovering energy from the same working fluid, with the exhaust from the first stage passing through the second stage, and in some cases then on to another subsequent stage or even s ...

s which were supplied with steam by a coal-fired Scotch boiler with two furnaces. A similar but oil-fired boiler replaced the original boiler in 1963. In 1980 this was also removed and the present two locally made small modern package boilers were installed. These new boilers produce less steam than the original ones.

Crane

The hull of the vessel was built by Fleming and Ferguson and the crane was built by Sir William Arrol & Co. of Glasgow. The crane alone weighs 310 tonnes, and was built to lift 80 tonnes. However, while dismantling the wreck of it is thought that she lifted 140 tonnes. In 2004, she lifted 100 tonnes to maintain her lifting licence of 80 tonnes. In 2009, ''Hikitia'' lifted a 22 tonne ice plant in Lyttelton.

Refurbishment

''Hikitia'' travelled to Lyttelton in June 2009 for hull, tail shaft and various other underwater repairs. While in Lyttelton, she moved an ice plant between wharves to repay part of her refurbishment at the port's dry dock. The venture south was the ship's first time out of Wellington since 1926.

Incidents

There have been two deaths resulting from people climbing the crane and jumping into Wellington Harbour, one in 2015, and another in 2024. The owners of the ''Hikitia'' said they had reviewed safety along with the Wellington City Council after the 2015 fatality. Video cameras and warning signs had been placed on the vessel.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Hikitia Heavy Lift Ltd
from Heritage New Zealand, Autumn 2005
Hikitia official website
Steam cranes Ships built on the River Clyde Paisley, Renfrewshire Buildings and structures in Wellington City Merchant ships of New Zealand Floating cranes 1926 ships