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RNZ News
3 days ago
- General
- RNZ News
Fire on historic ship The Tui most likely caused by electrical fault
Historic ship The Tui was found on fire on 4 June 2025. Photo: RNZ / Peter De Graaf The fire that destroyed a historic ship in the Bay of Islands was most likely caused by an electrical fault, not by arson, a fire investigator says. The Tui, a century-old sugar barge converted into a replica sailing ship by the late underwater explorer Kelly Tarlton, was severely damaged by fire early on Wednesday morning. Police initially treated the blaze as suspicious and, given how little remained, Northland fire investigator Craig Bain was not hopeful of being able to establish the cause. Luck was, however, on his side. "As the digger was bringing bits and pieces out, we were looking for the likes of switchboards and hard drives for the security system, and anything that might show an origin point," Bain said. "Just by pure luck, once everything had been removed, I went into what was left and looked over the side - and lying in the sand were the burnt-out remnants of the mains switchboard. Digging through that a bit further I found what was left of the mains cable that feeds the switchboard, and that had significant arcing and a fair bit of melting on it as well, indicating significant heat." That led the investigation team to conclude an electrical fault was the most likely cause of the fire. The find was even more unexpected given how quickly they had to work to beat the incoming tide. Bain said the switchboard was still warm to the touch when found, and appeared to have fallen out of the boat early in the fire. Power was live to the switchboard due to the vessel's pending restoration, and it was possible moisture had entered it during the wild weather lashing the Bay of Islands that night. Bain said the finding that the fire was most likely electrical rather than suspicious could provide some comfort to the owners, as well as to the Tarlton family. "I think it's quite a benefit to the folks starting out on this project to restore the boat that there doesn't appear to be anything malicious about the fire, that we know of." Kelly Tarlton created the Tui in the 1970s to display his collection of treasures salvaged from shipwrecks around New Zealand. Later it housed a series of restaurants and cafes but for the past decade it had been empty and increasingly derelict. It was bought last year by researchers Cat Peters and Thibaud Guerin, who planned to turn it into a centre for free community marine education. In April this year their TriOceans Education Trust received a grant from Foundation North to restore the ship. Work had just started when the fire broke out. Parts of the ship not destroyed by the blaze had to be demolished that morning, both to allow firefighters to fully extinguish the flames between its two hulls and to ensure debris did not enter the Bay of Islands on the high tide at 2.30pm. The site was blessed before dawn on Saturday in a moving ceremony led by the chairman of neighbouring Te Tii Marae, Ngāti Kawa Taituha. Fiona Tarlton took part, representing the family, and said she planned to gift the marae a framed photo of the Tui and her late father. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
6 days ago
- General
- RNZ News
Paihia ship fire: 'We've lost a significant bit of history'
Firefighters dampen down the remains of the Tui. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf The cause of a fire that destroyed a historic ship at the Paihia waterfront may never be known, a fire investigator says. The Tui - originally built to transport sugar from the Chelsea refinery on Auckland's North Shore more than a century ago - was severely damaged in a blaze that started just after 4am on Wednesday . What remained of the vessel was then demolished with a digger to prevent the debris being swept into the Bay of Islands. Northland fire investigator Craig Bain said police were treating the blaze as suspicious and were following up on a number of vehicles seen in the area on CCTV footage around the time the fire started. However, Bain said power was connected to the ship's main switchboard, so he could not immediately rule out an electrical fault as the cause. His job was hampered by the need to demolish the ship quickly. A digger demolishes what's left of the Tui before high tide can sweep the debris into the Bay of Islands. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf Bain said the Tui was effectively a "boat within a boat", because the late Kelly Tarlton had built a replica three-masted barque around the original sugar lighter - a type of flat-bottomed vessel. He said the flames had spread between the two hulls towards the bow. "So the only way we can really put this out is unfortunately to demolish the boat." It was also a race against time because the remains of the ship had to be removed from the beach before high tide at 2.30pm on Wednesday, to prevent the debris being washed into the Bay of Islands. Bain said it was too risky to get on the ship because the fire-damaged masts were "precarious". "We can't get in there to get a good look, it's just too dangerous." A digger demolishes what's left of the Tui as firefighters continue dampening down the wreckage. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf The last of the three masts collapsed about 10am. Instead, he was examining the debris being pulled off the ship in the hope that would give him some idea of how the fire started. If he was unable to establish the cause of the fire it would be classed as undetermined. Bain was, however, confident it had started at the rear of the ship. "It's quite devastating for Paihia and the Northland community in that we've lost a significant bit of history," he said. Bain said he felt for the people who had been striving to turn the ship into a marine education centre. Restoration work had been due to start in earnest om the day of the fire, he said. Northland fire investigator Craig Bain inspects debris pulled off the ship in the hope of identifying the cause of the fire. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf Paihia deputy fire chief Sandro Schuetze said the first fire call came in at 4.07am. In total 13 fire trucks responded with more than 50 firefighters from as far away as Whangārei. "Everyone gave their best to try to save the boat, but the condition of the boat and the high wind meant we couldn't save it at all." Schuetze said it was a sad day for the local community. Many people had fond memories of the ship as Kelly Tarlton's Museum of Shipwrecks, and later as a series of restaurants. The last of those, Shippey's, closed in 2014. "It was undergoing work to bring it back to its glory… but it will not see that glory anymore, unfortunately." A warning was issued for people in the area to keep their doors and windows closed due to the high winds and thick smoke. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
