MV Kooringa

MV Kooringa was the world's first fully cellular purpose-built container ship and was built by Australian company, Associated Steamships in partnership with McIlwraith, McEacharn & Co and commissioned in May 1964.[1] It was built at the New South Wales State Dockyard in Newcastle as a "custom-designed cellular container ship to handle 20-ton containers".[2]

Kooringa
History
Australia
Name: Kooringa
Namesake: Kooringa
Owner: Associated Steamships and McIlwraith, McEacharn & Co
Port of registry: Melbourne
Builder: State Dockyard, Newcastle, New South Wales
Yard number: 72
Launched: 29 February 1964
Completed: 17 May 1964
General characteristics
Type: Container ship
Tonnage:
Length: 126.2 m (414 ft) LOA
Beam: 19.1 m (63 ft)
Speed: 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)

The 6,750 ton ship was designed to handle 10,000 tons of containerised cargo in 36 hours by being loaded and unloaded simultaneously. It entered the Melbourne-Fremantle trade in 1964,[3] arriving at Fremantle Harbour on 19 June that year. Two more purpose built container ships, MV Kanimbla and MV Manoora joined the regular service in 1969 and the three ships continued to operate until 1975 when competition from rail freight made the service non-viable.

The ship was named after the now closed mining town of Kooringa in South Australia.

Another ship of the same name

A ship of the same name, the 339 ton SS Kooringa was built for the Yorke Peninsula Steamship Co in 1902 and ran mail, passenger and cargo between Port Adelaide and ports along the Yorke Peninsula and Kangaroo Island.[4] Yorke Steamship Co. was ultimately taken over by Adelaide Steamship Company.

References
  1. "Port of Houston Magazine" (PDF). 7 July 1968. p. 5. Retrieved 18 July 2009.
  2. "Made in Australia – Global Solutions From Down Under: Container ships, 1964". Stroudgate Australasia Pty Ltd. Archived from the original on 18 June 2009. Retrieved 18 July 2009.
  3. "The Adelaide Steamship Company". www.oceanlinermuseum.co.uk. Archived from the original on 10 October 2009. Retrieved 18 July 2009.
  4. "Coast Steamships Ltd - Historical Note". ANU Information Services. March 2004. Archived from the original on 28 August 2007.
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