Long before she became a film star, this little ship led an ordinary working life. Launched in May 1956 as the coaster Mypuck for a Dutch shipping company, she carried general cargo for almost half a century and changed owners and names many times – from Vingaren and Borneland to Manuia in the South Pacific.
Her big moment came in 2005, when Peter Jackson cast her as the tramp steamer Venture in his remake of King Kong – the ship that carries the film crew to Skull Island. Registered as Venture II, she then spent several years idle in Wellington. In February 2010 she was cleaned, stripped and deliberately sunk off the New Zealand coast, where she now serves as an artificial reef for marine life and divers.
