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Milburn Carrier
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Built by J.J. Sietas Schiffswerft, yard 704, in Hamburg between 4 April 1971 and 1 February 1972 - she was launched four days later - at a cost of $3.1m, she is powered by one 3200hp Deutz diesel, producing a service speed of 13 knots.
 She has one 1.5 tonne derrick and one 1 tonne derrick, and was specially built to allow NZ Cement Holdings (as they were then known) to maximise their service to Onehunga.
On her delivery voyage to Westport, under the command of Captain Norman Reeves, she rode out a force nine gale in the Atlantic, and hurricane force winds in the Pacific.
 Arriving at Onehunga, 27 March 1976
Taken by Dave Gallie, www.shipspotting.com
Upon her maiden visit to Onehunga, she became the largest ship to call at the Port since 1916. And at the time of her arrival, she was the most sophisticated ship to have visited the Port, with a high degree of automation central to her design.
Her engines and machinery could run for up to sixteen hours without supervision, while her steering system was mouse-like - a small portable hand-held device which could be carried round the wheelhouse.
 Sourced from Ships of NZ Facebook page
She had an eventful first year on the job, suffering an engine breakdown off Cape Farewell in September 1972 after being struck earlier in the month by the Westport dredge "Mawhera", which came off very much second-best when colliding with the stationery cement carrier's bow - the dredge's bridge was no more!
Then on 1 February 1973, she hit the "Zaida" while berthing in Gisborne. And on 1 August 1975, "MC" hit the national news headlines. For all the right reasons, mind - she was central to the successful resolution of a search-and-rescue operation in stormy conditions, rescuing the surviving crewman of an overturned fishing vessel, "Quest", off the Wairarapa Coast.
 Sourced from Ships of NZ Facebook page
The survivor described the efforts of "Milburn Carrier"'s Captain Paddy Ginley as ' a fantastic piece of seamanship'.
She was also involved during the rescue of passengers from the passenger line "Mikhail Lermentov", on 16 February 1986 in the Marlborough Sounds.
 Taken by Cruiserboy, www.shipspotting.com
Ten years earlier, on 10 August 1976, she was laid up in Westport owing to a downturn in the building industry. She didn't move from her berth until January 1979, when she made the journey to Lyttelton for survey and docking.
Eighteen days later, she was back at the lay-up berth in Westport, and she remained there, fully maintained and ready for service, for a further two years, when it was time to return to Lyttelton for another docking survey.
Upon its conclusion, she resumed trading on a weekly basis to Napier and Gisborne from Westport until August 1981, when she was laid up yet again, this time until June 1982 - all told, she was out of service for some 63 months, i.e. over five years!
 She was laid up again on 1 August 1988, this time for sale following the activation into service of her successor, "Milburn Carrier II". Another eight months tied up with no place to go followed, until her new owners, Arklow Shipping, took delivery of her in April 1989 - she sailed for Dublin via Papeete and the Panama Canal on the 6th of that month.
After leaving our shores, having carried over 1.5 million tonnes of cement around the coast, she served a variety of customers around Europe, including Fantoft Cement in Norway, but in Esbjerg in June 2009, this happened - a sad end to one of my all-time favourite visitors to Onehunga.
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