YWAM Koha

YWAM Koha is a New Zealand-registered Medical Aid Ship, built in 1968 as the buoy tender Konrad Meisel for the German Government and later owned in South Africa as Isibane. As the Claymore II she provided the essential transport links to the remote Pacific territory of Pitcairn Island from New Zealand and French Polynesia, part-funded by the British Government until 2018 when she was replaced by the Silver Supporter.[4]

History
Name
  • 1968-1998: Konrad Meisel
  • 1998-2010: Isibane
  • 2010-2019: Claymore II
  • 2019-Onwards: YWAM Koha
Owner
Port of registry
  • 1968-1990: West Germany Hamburg, West Germany
  • 1990-1998: Germany Hamburg, Germany
  • c2000-2004:  South Africa
  • 2004-2010:  Panama
  • from 2010: New Zealand Tauranga, New Zealand
BuilderJadewerft, Wilhelmshaven
Yard number113
Completed1968
Identification
General characteristics
TypeBuoy tender;

from c2004 passenger and cargo,

from 2019 Medical Ship
Tonnage514 GRT, later 486 GT
Length160 ft (49 m)
Beam32 ft (9.8 m)
Draft12 ft (3.7 m)
Decks5
Installed powerTwo Deutz diesel engines, 560 kW (750 hp) each
Propulsion
Speed
  • 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) (maximum)
  • 9.5 knots (17.6 km/h; 10.9 mph) (cruise)
Range9,000 nautical miles (17,000 km; 10,000 mi)
Capacity12 passengers
Crew8
Notes[1][2][3]

Buoy tender

Konrad Meisel was built in 1968[note 1] by Jadewerft Wilhelmshaven GmbH, Wilhelmshaven for the Wasser- und Schifffahrtsamt Cuxhaven (Waterways and Shipping Office Cuxhaven) of the Federal Republic of Germany.[1][5] When built, she measured 514 gross register tons with dimensions of 48.82m LOA, 44.30m LBP, 9.56m beam and 4.65m depth, and a draught of 3.25m. She was powered by two Deutz 8-cylinder diesel engines, totalling 1103 kW (1500 bhp), geared to a single propeller. Over the single hold an eleven-ton crane was installed.[1]

During Konrad Meisel's 30-year service with WSA Cuxhaven, she was responsible for the maintenance of marine navigation buoys in the lower River Elbe and the adjacent sea areas.[6][7] In 1998 the ship was retired by the WSA Cuxhaven and sold to the South African Government.

The tender was allocated to the South African Maritime Safety Authority and renamed Isibane, Zulu for 'light', by which time she had been remeasured as 486 gross tons.[2][8] In 2004 she was sold to South African company Zonnekus Mansion Pty Ltd and transferred to the Panamanian flag.[5]

Passenger-cargo vessel

In August 2009 Isibane was purchased by Nigel Jolly, of Stoney Creek Shipping Co Ltd, Palmerston North, New Zealand, modified to carry cargo and 12 passengers, and renamed Claymore II.[3][9] Stoney Creek Shipping had been providing a passenger and cargo link to Pitcairn at the request of the British Government since 2002 with Braveheart, a former Japanese fishery research ship.[9][10]

Claymore II was contracted by the Pitcairn Island Council, and subsidised by the British Government, to make four annual round trips to deliver cargo and supplies to Pitcairn Island from New Zealand, loading at Tauranga.[3][11][12][13] She also made eight subsidised round trips each year, from Pitcairn to Mangareva, French Polynesia, the nearest airport, for passengers to connect to the air service to Tahiti.[11][12][13][14] Outside these scheduled services, the vessel was available for charter.[15] As Pitcairn has no port facilities, all cargo and passengers where landed on the island from Claymore II by longboat.[16] As of 2014, there were concerns regarding the continued availability of the loading berth at Tauranga.[17] However, the vessel was still servicing Pitcairn from the Port of Tauranga as of 2016[18]

The ship is the subject of a 2011 $1.80 Pitcairn Islands stamp.[19]

Medical Aid Ship

In July 2019 the ship was renamed the YWAM Koha in a ceremony in Tauranga[20] and after dry-dock maintenance she will be relaunched as a volunteer-based medical aid ship providing Primary Health Care, Dentistry, Ophthalmic Surgery and Optometry services operated by YWAM Ships Aotearoa[21].

She will then be taken on a multi-port promotional tour around New Zealand to raise awareness, supplies and funds for her future deployments to the Pacific.

Notes
  1. 1966 in some sources is erroneous

References
  1. Register of Ships 1990-1991, vol2 (1990 ed.). London: Lloyd's Register of Shipping. p. 677.
  2. Register of Ships 2000-2001, vol2 (2000 ed.). London: Lloyd's Register of Shipping. p. 360.
  3. "About the MV Claymore II". Pitcairn Islands Tourism. Archived from the original on 21 September 2014. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
  4. "Vessel details for: SILVER SUPPORTER (General Cargo) - IMO 9165944, MMSI 236578000, Call Sign ZDJY7 Registered in Gibraltar | AIS Marine Traffic". MarineTraffic.com. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  5. "Konrad Meisel". Miramar Ship Index. R S Haworth, Wellington NZ (registration required). Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  6. "Zuständigkeitsbereich" [Area of responsibility] (in German). WSA Cuxhaven. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  7. "Schifffahrtszeichen" [navigation signs] (in German). WSA Cuxhaven. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  8. Lehohla, Pali. "Durban to host the World Cup of data in 2009". Statistics South Africa. Archived from the original on 27 June 2014. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  9. "Pitcairn passengers, last call". SunLive. Tauranga NZ: Sun Media. 9 May 2010. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  10. "New Zealand Maritime Index". Auckland NZ: New Zealand Maritime Museum. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
  11. "Pitcairn Island". c25W: House of Commons Hansard. 29 October 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  12. "Pitcairn Islands Strategic Development Plan 2012-2016" (PDF). Government of Pitcairn. 2013. pp. 10, 35. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 July 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  13. Pitcairn Islands Study Center, Pacific Union College (2014). "Transportation to Pitcairn Island". Pacific Union College. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  14. "Shipping Schedule". Pitcairn Islands Tourism. Archived from the original on 21 September 2014. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
  15. Koldeway, Dr Heather (May 2013). "Pitcairn Marine Research Outline Plan" (PDF). Philadelphia PA, USA: Pew Charitable Trusts. p. 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
  16. "About the Claymore II, Pitcairn's Government Chartered Passenger / Cargo Vessel". Pitcairn Islands Tourism. Archived from the original on 21 September 2014. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
  17. Porter, David (9 April 2014). "Pitcairn provider keen to stay". Bay of Plenty Times News - Business. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  18. Pitcairn Islands Tourism Archived 22 May 2017 at the Wayback Machine (2016).
  19. "CLAYMORE II". Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  20. "Former cargo vessel renamed in Tauranga ahead of Pacific tour as aid ship". The New Zealand Herald. 24 July 2019. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  21. "Medical – YWAM Ships Aotearoa". Retrieved 14 August 2019.
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