GRV James Cook was a research vessel of the New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. It was built in 1966 as the New Zealand Sea Products Export Ltd trawler Sea Harvester II and purchased by the New Zealand government in 1969 when the company went bankrupt. The ship was renamed James Cook after Captain James Cook and used as a research vessel until 1991, when it was replaced by the RV Tangaroa. From 1973 to 1991 Andrew Leachman served as first mate and then captain; he went on to captain the Tangaroa for over 20 years.[1]

History
New Zealand
NameJames Cook
NamesakeJames Cook
OwnerMinistry of Agriculture and Fisheries
OperatorMAF Fisheries
BuilderAkers MV, Trondheim, Norway
Launched17 Aug 1966
Acquired1969
Out of service1991
HomeportWellington
IdentificationIMO number6618366
FateScuttled in December 2007
General characteristics
Displacement499 GT
Length42.67 m (140.0 ft)

James Cook was purchased by Seafresh New Zealand Ltd for use as a fishing boat but the company ceased trading soon after. The ship was in poor condition and made its last voyage under power from Nelson to Wellington in 1997. It was purchased by James Cook Shipping for use as a charter boat in Fiji.[2] It was stripped of most of its equipment in July 2004.[3] It suffered damage after breaking free from its moorings in October 1998 and again in August 2007. It was also set on fire by vandals several times. The hulk was scuttled in the former explosives dumping ground about 15 nautical miles (28 km) southwest of Cape Palliser on 2 December 2007.[4]

References

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  1. ^ "Antarctic captain who played his saxophone to penguins while on daring rescues in the Southern Ocean". Stuff. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  2. ^ "Nautical News: "James Cook"". New Zealand Marine News. 51 (3): 146. 2003.
  3. ^ "Nautical News: "James Cook"". New Zealand Marine News. 53 (1): 41. 2005.
  4. ^ "Three down, some to go". scoop.co.nz. 22 February 2008.
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