New Cook Strait ferry due in Wellington
Photo:
Supplied / StraitNZ
Bluebridge's new Cook Strait ferry will be arriving in Wellington on Thursday.
In a post on its Facebook page, Bluebridge said the
Livia
was scheduled to sail into the capital about 8am.
After completing a full dry dock in Denmark the ship had departed Europe and made its way through the Panama Canal and on to New Zealand.
The company announced in March it was buying the vessel to replace the
Strait Feronia
, which first launched in 1997.
At the time, StraitNZ chief executive Shane McMahon said
the company was familiar with the vessel type and knew it was well suited to work on Cook Strait.
McMahon said the new ship would provide a 10 percent increase in vehicle capacity and increase Bluebridge passenger capacity significantly with further alterations.
Bluebridge said the
Livia
would sail into Wellington harbour escorted by tugs.
It invited the public to view the arrival from Oriental Bay where it would be handing out coffee in a Bluebridge keep cup, chocolate fish and a chance to win a return trip on the ship.
As the
Stena Livia,
the ship had sailed for the Stena Line between Germany and Latvia. It began sailing in 2008.
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