View source for MV Straitsman (1972)

{{distinguish|MV Straitsman (2005)}}
{{Use Australian English|date=April 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}}
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{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship name= *MV ''Straitsman'' (1972-2004)
*MV ''Sinu-I-Wasa'' (2004-2016)
|Ship owner=
|Ship operator=*Venu Shipping
*[[StraitNZ]]
*Tasmanian Transport Commission
*RH Houfe & Co
|Ship registry= [[Suva]], Fiji
|Ship builder= [[NQEA]], [[Cairns]]
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|Ship launched= 29 January 1972
|Ship completed= 1974
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|Ship out of service= 2016
|Ship identification= *{{IMO Number|7206031}}
|Ship fate= Ran aground
|Ship notes=}}
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|Ship type= [[Roll-on/roll-off|ROPAX]] ferry
|Ship tonnage= {{GT|1481}}
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|Ship length= {{convert|63|m|ftin|abbr=on}} 
|Ship beam= {{convert|12|m|ftin|abbr=on}} 
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The '''''Straitsman''''' was a [[Bass Strait]] 720-ton [[roll-on/roll-off]] [[ferry]] livestock carrier.<ref>New King Island vessel ''[[Freight & Container Transportation]]'' January 1972 page 6</ref> Built by [[NQEA]], [[Cairns]] for RH Houfe & Co, it was launched on 29 January 1972. It was built to operate between [[Melbourne]], [[King Island, Tasmania|King Island]] and [[Stanley, Tasmania|Stanley]].<ref>[https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/264815570 The Biggest Ship Yet Built in the North] ''King Island News'' 19 January 1972 page 4</ref><ref>[https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/264815683 Straitsman is launched] ''King Island News'' 2 February 1972 page 1</ref>

After RH Houfe & Co ran into financial difficulties, in 1973 the ship was purchased by the Tasmanian Transport Commission. On 23 March 1974, it capsized and sank in the [[Yarra River]], Melbourne while approaching its berth with its vehicle door partly open, with the loss of two crew members and many of her cargo of 2,000 [[sheep]].<ref>[https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/110768489 Freighter's stern door was when she sank] ''[[Canberra Times]]'' 25 March 1974 page 1</ref><ref>Four-hour ordeal in sunken ship ''[[The Times]]'' 25 March 1974 page 7</ref><ref>Transactions - North East Coast Institution of Engineers. North East Coast Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders - 1989 "It may also be useful to recall the several ro-ro losses before that date, and especially the little-known precedent of the Straitsman, a ro-ro ferry which capsized and sank whilst approaching its berth with its vehicle door at least partly open."</ref> The ferry was heading upstream at {{convert|6|kn|mph km/h|lk=in}} when a crew member opened the [[stern]] door without the knowledge of the [[Sea captain|captain]] on the [[Bridge (nautical)|bridge]].<ref>Oceanic Abstracts 1990- Issues 3-4 - Page 143  ... the Straitsman, a Bass Strait Ro-Ro ferry, suffered a similar fate whilst proceeding stem first towards its berth in the Yarrow river with the stem door open.</ref>

Following salvage and repair, the vessel spent 15 years serving King Island, before being bought by [[StraitNZ|Bluebridge]], where it provided inter-island ferry services between the North and South Islands between 1992 and 2004.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160211003057/https://nzshipmarine.com/nodes/view/115 Straitsman] NZ Ship & Marine Society</ref> It was then sold to a Fijian shipping company, renamed '''''Sinu-I-Wasa''''', running aground during [[Cyclone Winston]] in 2016.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20180924112046/https://fijisun.com.fj/2018/05/23/msaf-to-oversee-removal-of-ship/ MSAF to oversee removal of ship] ''[[Fiji Sun]]'' 23 May 2018</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book|last1=Pollard|first1=Neil|title=Straitsman: Lifeline to an Island|date=2007|publisher=Nautical Association of Australia|location=Caulfield South|isbn=9780959907988}}
{{refend}}

{{New Zealand inter-island ferries}}
{{1974 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Straitsman}}
[[Category:Ferries]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1974]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 2016]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of Victoria (state)]]
[[Category:1972 ships]]