The vessel, when ordered, was the largest motor ship then known in the world.
When completed the vessel would be the largest vessel of the Union Company's fleet and was intended for the Canadian-Australasian Royal mail service. The first large ocean going mail and passenger liner to be propelled by internal combustion engines was successfully launched from the yard of the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company of Govan on June 17th 1924 for the Union Steam Ship Co Ltd of New Zealand. During the first year's operation her average speed was 16.54 knots with a daily fuel consumption of 53 - 56 tons which included fuel for the diesel engines, refridgerating plant, heating and laundry operations. Even on the 'short' legs, such as the 2,400 mile Honolulu - Vancouver leg scheduled for six and a half days, the Aorangi would gain twelve hours on the schedule. It was running on schedules more suited to slower vessels, thus the Aorangi consistently gained on the timetables. The Aorangi was the first of a new breed of large liners powered by diesel engines. In 1931 potential competition from the American owned Matson Line saw the creation of the Canadian-Australasian Line, from an agreement between the Union Steamship Company and the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, the Aorangi and Niagara were transferred to this new company. This would become her regular route for a number of years. On these voyages the ship would spend five days in Vancouver and five days in Sydney, of which thirty six hours of each stop would be spent on disinfecting the ship. From here the ship commenced her maiden Pacific voyage to Honolulu, Suva, Auckland, Wellington and Sydney on February 6th 1925. The Aorangi's maiden voyage commenced from Southampton on January 2nd 1925 for Los Angeles and Vancouver, arriving there on January 30th 1925 after a journey of 9,047 nautical miles at an average speed of seventeen knots. Aorangi is from the Maori language 'cloud in the sky' The ship was named after Mount Aorangi, a mountain on New Zealand's South Island. It was a quadruple screw vessel powered by four six cylinder Fairfield built Sulzer ST70 two stroke single acting engines of 700mm bore - total of 13,000hp at 127rpm. The Aorangi was built by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company of Glasgow (hull number 603) for the Union Steamship Company of New Zealand during 1924, it was launched June 17th 1924. Photograph from collection of Bjorn Larsson A broadside view of the RMS Aorangi. Aorangi, mv aorangi, aorangi ship, union steamship Aorangi Union Steamship Company 1924 - 1953
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