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Union Nelson
 Pictured on her final voyage out of Onehunga
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Built in Ulsan, she is powered by two 2000hp MWM diesels, producing a service speed of 14.5 knots. She had a crew of twenty.
She could carry 150 twenty tonne containers, and had a total capacity of 218 units, including reefers. She was strengthened for heavy cargoes and navigation in ice.
She had one 40 tonne and two 20 tonne cranes - increased to 22 tonnes apiece in January 1983, and carried approximately 160 containers per voyage through Onehunga, giving an annual throughput of 4000 containers.
 Acquired at a cost of $8m, her delivery voyage to New Zealand commenced in Marseille, and continued via Port Said, the Suez Canal, Singapore - where modifications were carried out - and Melbourne, where she picked up cargo, before she arrived in Wellington.
She sailed for Nelson on 28 March, and her naming ceremony took place a day later, with Mrs George Gair, wife of the then Minister of Transport, christening the ship. She then loaded for Onehunga, sailing on the 30th.
 Sourced from Union Shipping's internal publication, Linkspan
She operated the Sealink service between Lyttelton, Nelson, New Plymouth (until 1983) and Onehunga, averaging 22 hours for the Nelson to Onehunga leg. Initially, Lyttelton dropped out of the mix while a demarcation dispute was resolved - she was actually held up there for eighteen days in April 1982, with the full service commencing in mid-August.
She handled approximately 160 containers per call at Onehunga, and had an annual throughput of 4000 containers, providing the Port with its first fully containerised service. She was capable of carrying over four times the cargo of "Titoki", and was much more cost effective due to the ease and speed of container handling.
Among the cargoes carried north were canned fruit, canned and frozen fish, and stone chips for use in making roof tiles. Southbound cargoes included building materials, fruit trays, and sugar for the Griffins factory and the Apple & Pear Board cannery. In 1984-85, she loaded around 54,000 tonnes of cargo for discharging at Nelson.
 Sourced from USSCo NZ Facebook page
She was withdrawn from service at the end of 1985 due to a combination of factors - intense competition from road and rail, high costs, and declining cargo volumes.
Following her coastal service, she was laid up in Wellington (see photo below) until acquired by Polynesia Triangle Line and renamed "Capricornia", under which name she visited Onehunga again.
She was then sub-chartered and renamed "Polynesian Link" in 1991, and it was under this name that she met a sorry end in Suva, capsizing at the wharf while loading on 12 October 1991.
 Sourced from USSCo NZ Facebook page
Singaporean salvagers removed her accommodation block, and cut her hull into three sections before removing it all by the end of February 1992.
A part of her remains fully active in New Zealand, however. Her mast is now firmly ensconced on "Milburn Carrier II".
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