The regional council is asking for the community to put forward naming suggestions for the harbourmaster team’s new vessel, which arrived last month.
A regional council spokeswoman said the 8.5m long boat would be used for duties around Dunedin’s harbour and coastline.
Its predecessor, the 7-metre Kaitiaki, is now based in the Lake Dunstan/Central Otago area for harbourmaster duties.
ORC harbourmaster Steve Rushbrook said the name would be decided by a panel made up of representatives from Kāi Tahu and the council would decide the winner before an official naming ceremony to be held in November
‘‘We look forward to seeing some imaginative ideas for boat names and having the new vessel on the water.’’
The new vessel would be used for on-water activities, water safety programmes, oil spill containment, maritime emergency management, navigational safety bylaw education and enforcement.
The vessel, a Rayglass Protector, was a former Auckland harbourmaster vessel, which became available when the Auckland Regional Council replaced its fleet with boats retired from the America’s Cup campaign.
It weighed three tonnes, could carry seven people and was powered by two 200hp Suzuki outboards.
• Name suggestions could be made via the ORC's Facebook post or by emailing Comms@orc.govt.nz before October 28.
