 Kea at Silo Park | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| New Zealand | |
| Namesake | Kea |
| Owner | Fullers360 |
| Builder | WECO |
| Commissioned | 1988 |
| Out of service | 2020 |
| Homeport | Auckland |
| Fate | Scrapped in 2023 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Commercial Passenger Ferry |
| Displacement | 341 tons [1] |
| Length | 27.09 metres [2] |
| Beam | 10 metres [2] |
| Speed | 12 knots [2] |
| Complement | 411 passengers |
| Crew | 2 |
M.V. Kea (sometimes called the Seabus Kea) was a commercial passenger ferry that operated the busy New Zealand Devonport-Downtown Auckland express route for Fullers Ferries (Auckland's largest ferry operator). The Kea operated a regular service departing from Downtown Auckland every half-hour. [3]
The Kea entered service in 1988 as the 14th ferry of the company. [4]
The bridge area formed a third deck. Her distinctive design is similar to earlier Auckland ferries, such as the Kestrel, [5] in that she is longitudinally symmetrical, effectively meaning that she can be driven both ways, so that no U-Turns at the starts or finishes of crossings have to be made. This enabled the Kea to maintain a half-hourly express service between Downtown Auckland and Devonport.
In 2007, she was removed from the water and given a substantial overhaul in a shipyard in the Western Reclamation, including major work on both engines. [6]
In 2006, the Kea was involved in a minor collision at the Auckland Ferry Terminal with the moored Starflyte, due to steering failure. [1]
In February 2015, the Kea was again involved in a collision, this time at the Devonport Ferry Terminal. No other vessel was involved. [7]
In 2020, the Kea was withdrawn from service. [8] In 2023, she was towed to Whangārei and scrapped. [9]
