Ports of Auckland narrows down final names for e-tug

Tuggy McTugface was among 3000 name suggestions for the world’s first full-size ship-handling electric tug set to arrive at Ports of Auckland.

Other ideas included: Ashley Bloomfield, Electric Disco Biscuit, The Fighting Queen of Covid and Doug.

Despite the efforts, these suggestions did not make the grade with the port narrowing down the final four names.

The public can now get to vote on the following:

• Ārahi – meaning to lead, escort, conduct, drive.
• E.T. – short for ‘Electric Tug’.
• Hiko – meaning electrical, power, electronic, electric, lightning.
• Sparky – diminutive of ‘spark’, slang for an electrician, related to electricity, but also sparking change.

“We are stoked with the response,” port communications manager Matt Ball says.

“We were hoping to get a thousand entries, so over three times that number is brilliant!”

“It looks like people had a lot of fun making up names, and we’ve had a lot of laughs sorting through them.

“We’ve narrowed down the field, tested the short-list for operational suitability and arrived at the final four names going to public vote.

“We think these names are both serious and adventurous, like the new e-tug, which unlike our older tugs, will have a big lightning bolt painted on it to mark it out as special,” he says.

*Go to poal.co.nz/name-the-tug to vote.