Industry | Transport |
---|---|
Founded | 1991 |
Area served | Cook Islands |
Key people | Teremoana Tapi Taio |
Products | Sea transport |
Taio Shipping is a shipping company in the Cook Islands. It is the islands' main inter-island shipping company, and operates freight and passenger services between Rarotonga and the outer islands, with services once or twice a month to Atiu, Mitiaro, Mauke and Mangaia, once every two months to Penrhyn, Rakahanga and Manihiki, and once every two and a half months to Palmerston and Pukapuka. [1]
The company was established in 1991 when Teremoana Tapi Taio purchased a damaged boat, the Acadia, in Rarotonga and obtained a shipping licence. [2]
In September 2005 the Manu Nui ran out of fuel and drifted while travelling from Pukapuka to Rarotonga, after failing to refuel. [3] [4]
In June 2006 Taio Shipping diverted the MV Maungaroa from its usual schedule for a charter for the producers of Survivor: Cook Islands, causing a fuel and electricity crisis on the island of Mangaia. [5]
In January 2008 the MV Maungaroa ran aground in Avatiu during a storm. [6]
In October 2010 the MV Te Kou Maru II was stranded on the reef at Mauke. [6] The wreck was left to rust for several years. [7]
In January 2017 the newly purchased MV Moana Nui was wrecked on a reef in Nassau. [8] An investigation attributed the wreck to lack of a detailed chart, inadequate radio communication, and lack of familiarity with the reef. [9] The wreck was still in place a year later. [10] A contract to salvage and remove the wreck was issued in November 2019. [11]
In September 2019 all of the company's ships were detained by the Cook Islands Ministry of Transport after a child was lost overboard from the MV Lady Moana while travelling from Rakahanga to Rarotonga. [12] A subsequent safety assessment by Maritime New Zealand found significant failings on the company's ships, and as a result the MV Grinna II was approved to carry only 12 passengers while the passenger licences for the MV Maungaroa II and MV Lady Moana were withdrawn. [13] While the ships were detained, the northern islands ran out of imported food and petrol. [14] In 2020 the MV Maungaroa II was taken out of service pending sale, and a larger vessel, the MV Maungaroa III, was purchased to replace it. [15]
On 21 March 2022 the Grinna II ran aground on the reef at Manihiki. [16] The vessel was deemed unsalvageable. [17]
Name | Built | In service | Gross tonnage | Passengers | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Grinna II | 1980 | 2018 - 2022 | 283 GT | 12 | Wrecked at Manihiki March 2022 |
MV Lady Moana | 1997 | 2013 - | 163 GT | 0 | Lost a child overboard at sea in 2019. [18] Passenger licence withdrawn 2019. [13] |
Name | Built | In service | Gross tonnage | Passengers | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Maungaroa II | 1978 | - 2019 | 153 GT | 0 | Passenger licence withdrawn 2019. [13] |
MV Moana Nui | 1967 [19] | 2016 - 2017 | 272 GT | 50 | Wrecked at Nassau January 2017 [8] |
MV Te Kou Maru II | 1977 | - 2010 | 153 GT | Wrecked at Mauke 2010 | |
MV Maungaroa | 1967 | 1996 - 2008 | 220 GT | Wrecked at Rarotonga 2008 | |
Manu Nui | 1960 | 2000 - | 465 GT | ||
Acadia | 1991 - ? | ||||
The Cook Islands is a self-governing island country in the South Pacific Ocean in free association with New Zealand. It comprises 15 islands whose total land area is 240 square kilometres (93 sq mi). The Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers 1,960,027 square kilometres (756,771 sq mi) of ocean.
The Cook Islands are named after Captain James Cook, who visited the islands in 1773 and 1777, although Spanish navigator Alvaro de Mendaña was the first European to reach the islands in 1595. The Cook Islands became aligned to the United Kingdom in 1890, largely because of the fear of British residents that France might occupy the islands as it already had Tahiti.
The Cook Islands can be divided into two groups: the Southern Cook Islands and the Northern Cook Islands. The country is located in Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand.
Like most countries and territories in Oceania, telecommunications in the Cook Islands is limited by its isolation and low population, with only one major television broadcasting station and six radio stations. However, most residents have a main line or mobile phone. Its telecommunications are mainly provided by Telecom Cook Islands, who is currently working with O3b Networks, Ltd. for faster Internet connection.
This article lists transport in the Cook Islands.
Rarotonga is the largest and most populous of the Cook Islands. The island is volcanic, with an area of 67.39 km2 (26.02 sq mi), and is home to almost 75% of the country's population, with 13,007 of a total population of 17,434. The Cook Islands' Parliament buildings and international airport are on Rarotonga. Rarotonga is a very popular tourist destination with many resorts, hotels and motels. The chief town, Avarua, on the north coast, is the capital of the Cook Islands.
The flag of the Cook Islands, officially known as the Cook Islands Ensign, is based on the traditional design for former British colonies in the Pacific region. It is a blue ensign containing the Union Flag in the upper left, and on the right, fifteen stars in a ring. The Union Flag is symbolic of the nation's historic ties to the United Kingdom and to the Commonwealth of Nations. The stars stand for the fifteen islands that make up the Cook Islands. The blue represents the ocean and the peaceful nature of the inhabitants.
Rakahanga is part of the Cook Islands, situated in the central-southern Pacific Ocean. The unspoilt atoll is 1,248 kilometres from the Cook Islands' capital, Rarotonga, and lies 1,111 kilometres south of the equator. Its nearest neighbour is Manihiki which is just 44 kilometres away. Rakahanga's area is 4 square kilometres (1.5 sq mi). Its highest point is approximately 5 metres above sea level. The population was 83 in the 2016 Census of Population & Dwellings. Since 2014 Rakahanga's power has been 100% solar generated. The Rakahanga-Manihiki language differs from Cook Islands Maori.
Nassau is an island in the northern group of the Cook Islands. It is approximately 1,246 kilometres (774 mi) north of the capital island of Rarotonga and 88 kilometres (55 mi) from Pukapuka. Lacking an airstrip, it is accessible only by boat. It is named after a 19th-century whaling ship. Its indigenous name, Te Nuku-o-Ngalewu, means "Land of Ngalewu" after the Pukapukan who was put in charge of it.
Manihiki is an atoll in the northern group of the Cook Islands known informally as the "Island of Pearls". It is located in the Northern Cook Island chain, approximately 1,299 kilometres (807 mi) north of the capital island of Rarotonga, making it one of the most remote inhabitations in the Pacific Ocean. Its name has two possible meanings: It's believed that the original name of the island was Manuhiki, inspired by the aboriginal discovers Manu coming from the word Rua Manu and Hiki meaning ashore, so the literal translation would be canoe carried ashore. The second interpretation is that the original discoverers were from Manihi, an island in Tuamotus, so the name of the island would mean Little Manihi.
Rakahanga-Manihiki is a Cook Islands Maori dialectal variant belonging to the Polynesian language family, spoken by about 2500 people on Rakahanga and Manihiki Islands and another 2500 in other countries, mostly New Zealand and Australia. Wurm and Hattori consider Rakahanga-Manihiki as a distinct language with "limited intelligibility with Rarotongan". According to the New Zealand Maori anthropologist Te Rangi Hīroa who spent a few days on Rakahanga in the years 1920, "the language is a pleasing dialect and has closer affinities with [New Zealand] Maori than with the dialects of Tongareva, Tahiti, and the Cook Islands"
Cook Islands Cricket Association is the official governing body of the sport of cricket in Cook Islands. Its current headquarters is in Rarotonga, Cook Islands. Cook Islands Cricket Association is Cook Islands's representative at the International Cricket Council and is an affiliate member and has been a member of that body since 2000. It is also a member of the East Asia-Pacific Cricket Council. Cricket in the Cook Islands has been around for over a hundred years. The first official record of cricket is in 1910 with the registration of the Rarotonga Cricket Association, however photos pre date this to at least the late 19th century. In 2012 CICA was struck of the register. The CICA organises the Cook Islands men's and women's national teams.In 2017, became an associate member
The Northern Cook Islands is one of the two chains of atolls which make up the Cook Islands. Lying in a horizontal band between 9° and 13°30' south of the Equator, the chain consists of the atolls of Manihiki, Nassau, Penrhyn, Pukapuka, Rakahanga and Suwarrow, along with the submerged Tema Reef.
Sir Pupuke Robati, KBE was a Cook Island politician. He served as Prime Minister of the Cook Islands from 29 July 1987 to 1 February 1989.
The sport of football in the country of Cook Islands is run by the Cook Islands Football Association, a full member of the OFC and FIFA. The association administers the national football team. CIFA registered 13 full members as in football clubs, 6 Rarotonga Football Clubs ; 7 Island associations Aitutaki Football Association, Atiu Football Association, Mangaia Football Association, Mauke Football Association, Mitiaro Football Association, Pukapuka Football Association and Rakahanga Football Association; and 3 associate members, Manihiki, Nassau and Penrhyn.
Renewable energy in the Cook Islands is primarily provided by solar energy and biomass. Since 2011 the Cook Islands has embarked on a programme of renewable energy development to improve its energy security and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, with an initial goal of reaching 50% renewable electricity by 2015, and 100% by 2020. The programme has been assisted by the governments of Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, and the Asian Development Bank.
Agnes Armstrong is a Cook Islands politician and member of the Cook Islands Parliament. She is a member of the Cook Islands Democratic Party.
Marumaru Atua is a reconstruction of a vaka moana, a double-hulled Polynesian voyaging canoe. It was built in 2009 by the Okeanos Foundation for the Sea. In 2014, it was gifted to the Cook Islands Voyaging Society. It is used to teach polynesian navigation.
Severe Tropical Cyclone Peni was the first and only tropical cyclone to impact and cause significant damage to the Cook Islands in the 1990 South Pacific cyclone season. A shallow area of low-pressure began to develop near Rakahanga, an island in the Cook Island chain. The storm had also formed on the South Pacific convergence zone. The storm was first recognized on February 12, and had received tropical cyclone characteristics on the 13th. At 21:00 UTC, the storm was recognized as Tropical Cyclone Peni. The storm then took a path southwest towards the Cook Islands, Peni made a narrow turn and passed close to Aitutaki. Peni had gained hurricane status on the 15th, at 06:00 UTC. Peni had been able to keep hurricane characteristics until February 17, when it was downgraded to a storm, and soon, was declared extratropical. The name Peni was retired from the naming list.