DoC Auckland Islands
In 2018 Seaworks’ experience in transporting personnel and cargo for the Department of Conservation (DoC) stepped up a significant – and challenging – notch.
Having supplied services to DoC largely in the North Island, we were to sail 465 kilometres south of the South Island to Auckland Island – a remote destination that’s notoriously difficult to access owing to the extreme Southern Ocean weather and its rugged and mountainous terrain. Home to a wide range of sub-Antarctic plants and invertebrates and some of the rarest birds on Earth, Auckland Islands' ecosystem has been ravaged by feral pigs, mice and cats in the past 150–200 years. Our role was to support DoC’s ‘Maukahuka’ project, which aims to eradicate these invasive mammals from the island, enable the native wildlife to recover and reduce the risk of incursions to other pest-free islands in the region.
Our brief was to transport DoC personnel and a full load of equipment and supplies to the island – a journey that would take three days and involve mobilising the Searanger crew in Wellington, stopping at Bluff for loading, sailing to Auckland Island and discharging the cargo to a waiting helicopter. While Seaworks had undertaken similar projects at Somes Island, Kāpiti Island and the Hauraki Gulf, this one was particularly demanding owing to the isolated and treacherous operating conditions and requirements to:
- Ensure all areas above and below the Searanger’s waterline were scrupulously clean. This meant engaging specialist divers to clean and inspect the hull before we left Wellington, and providing access for DoC-trained inspectors to check for unwanted pests
- Transfer the cargo to the helicopter, which required not only dexterity and patience on both sides, but a meticulous attention to ensuring a sterile exchange
