PHOTO: STEPHEN JAQUIERY
Australian Longline Fishing managing director Malcolm McNeill said it came to New Zealand from Hobart to go up on to the dry dock in Lyttelton where it was scheduled to complete its five-year class (DNV) survey.
The 61.9m vessel’s next fishing trip is down to the Ross Sea so rather than taking it back to Hobart once the work was complete in Lyttelton, the company took the vessel to Dunedin where its agent is based.
It is planned to depart about November 20.
Antarctic Aurora is five years old, built to fish for toothfish in the Antarctic and Australian subantarctic waters throughout the year, normally landing into Hobart and Mauritius.
When the vessel sails it will do so with 23 mainly New Zealand crew and two fishery observers on board.
