Aranui 5

M/V Aranui 5 is a dual passenger/cargo vessel that entered service on 12 December 2015 between Tahiti and the Marquesas Islands. With a homeport of Papeete, French Polynesia, the Aranui 5 replaced the Aranui 3 which entered service in 2003.[3]

Aranui 5, 2015
History
France
Name	Aranui 5
Owner	Compagnie Polynesienne de Transport Maritime (CPTM)
Port of registry	Papeete, French Polynesia (France)
Builder	Huanghai Shipbuilding, Shandong, China[1]
In service	12 December 2015
Homeport	Papeete, French Polynesia
Identification	IMO number: 9677492 Call sign: FIQC MMSI number: 546018800[2]
Status	In service
General characteristics
Type	Passenger-cargo ship
Tonnage	7,500 GT 3,300 DWT
Length	126 m (413 ft 5 in)
Beam	24 m (78 ft 9 in)
Draught	5.5 m (18 ft 1 in)[1]
Decks	10
Speed	15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)[1]
Capacity	256
Crew	64[1]

No Aranui 4 ever went into service, because the number four is regarded as unlucky in China, from which Wing Wong, founder of Compagnie Polynesienne de Transport Maritime (CPTM), the family business that operates the Aranui voyages, emigrated to Tahiti in the 1930s.[3][4]

Aranui 5, like its predecessor, is registered as a passenger ship under the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), for international operation.[3]

As well as carrying cargo to and from the six ports in the Marquesas Islands, Aranui 5 operates a passenger service and tourist cruise as part of its monthly 12-day itinerary; the ship also stops at the Rangiroa and Tuamotu atolls before returning to Tahiti.[5]

Additional Aranui 5 trips operate to other islands in French Polynesia and beyond, including Rarotonga and the Cook Islands and once a year to Pitcairn Island.[5]