Planning under way to get Shiling back to Wellington, the scene of its previous near-miss

The 294-metre cargo ship that sparked an air and sea rescue mission off the top of the South Island remains at anchor in Tasman Bay while planning is underway to return it to Wellington.

The Shiling had only just left the capital last week, after being ordered to stay in the city for weeks following a previous near-miss, then lost all power and steering off Farewell Spit on Friday.

It was on Sunday revealed that Nelson, the closest port to where it was towed, was too small to safely get the ship to dock and it would likely return to Wellington. It remains at anchor in Tasman Bay on Monday morning with the vessel that rescued it, the Skandi Emerald, on standby nearby.

Maritime NZ on Sunday said the ship’s owner had contacted CentrePort in Wellington and it was most likely returning to the city.

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“While the decisions around passage, anchoring locations and towage are managed by the owners of the Shiling, Maritime NZ has oversight, and is liaising with CentrePort and the Wellington harbourmaster to ensure the process is managed safely,” Maritime NZ incident controller Kenny Crawford said.

“The Skandi Emerald is a very capable towage vessel, and its crew are highly experienced in traversing conditions such as what could be experienced in the Cook Strait,” he said.

The ship’s owner and insurer were paying for the towage but it was yet to be decided when this would happen.

The Singaporean-flagged Shiling has already spent three weeks in Wellington after losing power as it was leaving the capital in mid-April. The powerless ship drifted over the shallow Falcon Shoals near the harbour heads and could have easily hit the sea floor in a lower tide.

It was last week given permission to leave but under strict orders to go directly to Singapore for repairs.

However, after leaving Wellington it hit 8-metre swells off the top of the Marlborough Sounds and got thrashed around in the waves and the captain took shelter.

Wellington harbourmaster Grant Nalder recently told Greater Wellington Regional Council, which is the port’s majority owner, that the mid-April breakdown was the third mechanical failure on the ship in less than a year.