Well-known ship being sold to pay berth fees
A former pilot launch used to help rescue passengers during the Wahine disaster, is to be sold to pay mounting berth costs.
Fees for keeping the Arahina berthed at Queens Wharf have not been paid since mid-2022, a recent decision from the High Court in Wellington said.
Owner Johnathon Meichtry had apparently moved to Sydney and no steps were taken to defend the court case Wellington Waterfront Ltd took against the vessel.
Wellington Waterfront asked for judgment by default and Justice Helen Cull granted its application.
The ship was not seaworthy and could not leave port under its own power, she had been told.
Wellington Waterfront received an order for $28,406.96, along with costs and interest.
The court registrar was put in charge of having the ship appraised and sold to pay the debt.
Meichtry, an IT consultant, told in 2023 that he bought the 20m ship from an elderly couple in Bluff in 2016. It wasn’t in good condition.
He committed to buying the 50-tonne ship with no berth arranged, but when he spoke to the Wellington harbourmaster, he began to understand the Arahina’s significance, reported.
The harbourmaster, who had done his apprenticeship aboard it in the 1950s and 1960s, secured a berth at Queens Wharf and there it remained. It was also the launch’s original mooring when built in 1925.
Meichtry worked on restoring Arahina while he lived aboard.
When he spoke to in January 2023 he had just listed Arahina for sale for $250,000.
He said it was close to being seaworthy at that time.
The sale listing said Arahina played an important part in maritime emergencies in Wellington Harbour and the Cook Strait. During the Wahine disaster in 1968 Arahina saved 54 lives. it was