Taio sails in to help
by Charles Pitt

WITH THE Police vessel Kukupa out of action in Australia, the task of transporting the ballot boxes to the outer islands for the election has fallen on Taio Shipping Ltd.
Company head Tapi Taio told the Times on Friday morning that the ballot boxes and papers left Rarotonga at 9.30am on Wednesday by the fishing vessel FV Mary. Taio said this vessel was being used because it was capable of speeds up to 18 knots. For the round trip up north it would be averaging 9 knots, Taio said.
First port of call was Palmerston where the vessel arrived Thursday 21 September at 3.30pm. The vessel left Palmerston at 5.30pm on Thursday for Suwarrow where it will arrive Saturday 23 September at 2.30pm. At Suwarrow it will offload papers for the two caretakers and, according to Taio, it is the first time this has been done.
PUKAPUKA
The vessel leaves Suwarrow at 8am on Sunday 24th and heads for Nassau. It goes on to Pukapuka and then Rakahanga where it will arrive at 5am on 26 September, the day of the election.
The vessel will rest at Rakahanga and be refuelled. It will leave Rakahanga at 6am on the 27th for Manihiki where it will arrive at 9am. The ballot boxes for Rakahanga and Manihiki will be offloaded and flown by plane to Rarotonga. The vessel will then revisit Pukapuka, Nassau and Palmerston to pick up the ballot boxes left there and return them to Rarotonga.
The vessel is due back in Rarotonga at 1pm on 1 October.
Taio says all is going according to plan so far. For the trip the vessel will carry a total of 7,300 litres of fuel but will only use 6,000 litres.

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