Taio Shipping is a shipping company in the

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

. It is the islands' main inter-island shipping company, and operates freight and passenger services between

Rarotonga Rarotonga is the largest and most populous of the Cook Islands. The island is volcanic, with an area of , and is home to almost 75% of the country's population, with 13,007 of a total population of 17,434. The Cook Islands' Parliament buildings a ...

and the outer islands, with services once or twice a month to

Atiu Atiu, also known as Enuamanu (meaning ''land of the birds''), is an island of the Cook Islands archipelago, lying in the central-southern Pacific Ocean. Part of the Nga-pu-Toru, it is northeast of Rarotonga. The island's population has dropped b ...

Mitiaro Mitiaro, the fourth island in the Cook Islands group, is of volcanic origin. Standing in water deep it is across at its widest point. Geography Mitiaro, also known as Nukuroa, is part of the Nga-Pu-Toru island group formerly, a volcano that bec ...

Mauke Mauke (Ma'uke also Akatokamanava) is an island of the Cook Islands archipelago, lying in the central-southern Pacific Ocean. Part of the Nga-pu-Toru, it is northeast of Rarotonga. Geography Mauke is a raised coral atoll, with a central volcani ...

and

Mangaia Mangaia (traditionally known as A'ua'u Enua, which means ''terraced'') is the most southerly of the Cook Islands and the second largest, after Rarotonga. It is a roughly circular island, with an area of , from Rarotonga. Originally heavily popula ...

, once every two months to

Penrhyn Penryn is a Cornish word meaning 'headland' that may refer to: *Penryn, Cornwall, United Kingdom, a town of about 7,000 on the Penryn River **Penryn railway station, a station on the Maritime Line between Truro and Falmouth Docks, and serves the to ...

Rakahanga Rakahanga is part of the Cook Islands, situated in the central-southern Pacific Ocean. The unspoilt atoll is from the Cook Islands' capital, Rarotonga, and lies south of the equator. Its nearest neighbour is Manihiki which is just away. Rakah ...

and

Manihiki 250px, Map of Manihiki Atoll Manihiki is an atoll in the northern group of the Cook Islands known informally as the "Island of Pearls". It is located in the Northern Cook Island chain, approximately north of the capital island of Rarotonga, ma ...

, and once every two and a half months to

Palmerston Palmerston may refer to: People * Christie Palmerston (c. 1851–1897), Australian explorer * Several prominent people have borne the title of Viscount Palmerston ** Henry Temple, 1st Viscount Palmerston (c. 1673–1757), Irish nobleman and ...

and

Pukapuka Pukapuka, formerly Danger Island, is a coral atoll in the northern group of the Cook Islands in the Pacific Ocean. It is one of most remote islands of the Cook Islands, situated about northwest of Rarotonga. On this small island, an ancient ...

History

The company was established in 1991 when

Teremoana Tapi Taio Teremoana Tapi Taio is a Cook Islands politician and former Cabinet Minister. He is a member of the Cook Islands Democratic Party. Taio was elected to the Cook Islands Parliament for the electorate of Akaoa at the 1999 election. He served ...

purchased a damaged boat, the ''Acadia'', in Rarotonga and obtained a shipping licence. In September 2005 the ''Manu Nui'' ran out of fuel and drifted while travelling from Pukapuka to Rarotonga, after failing to refuel. In June 2006 Taio Shipping diverted the ''MV Maungaroa'' from its usual schedule for a charter for the producers of Survivor: Cook Islands, causing a fuel and electricity crisis on the island of Mangaia. In January 2008 the ''MV Maungaroa'' ran aground in

Avatiu Avatiu is a settlement on Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. It is located on the north coast to the west of the capital Avarua and is the location of Rarotonga's main port. Notable buildings include a Mormon church and family history centre, and a b ...

during a storm. In October 2010 the ''MV Te Kou Maru II'' was stranded on the reef at Mauke. The wreck was left to rust for several years. In January 2017 the newly purchased ''

MV Moana Nui MV may refer to: Businesses and organizations In transportation * Motor vessel, a motorized ship; used as a prefix for ship names * MV Agusta, a motorcycle manufacturer based in Cascina Costa, Italy * Armenian International Airways (IATA code MV) ...

'' was wrecked on a reef in

Nassau Nassau may refer to: Places Bahamas *Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792 *Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...

. An investigation attributed the wreck to lack of a detailed chart, inadequate radio communication, and lack of familiarity with the reef. The wreck was still in place a year later. A contract to salvage and remove the wreck was issued in November 2019. In September 2019 all of the company's ships were detained by the Cook Islands Ministry of Transport after a child was lost overboard from the ''

MV Lady Moana MV may refer to: Businesses and organizations In transportation * Motor vessel, a motorized ship; used as a prefix for ship names * MV Agusta, a motorcycle manufacturer based in Cascina Costa, Italy * Armenian International Airways (IATA code MV ...

'' while travelling from Rakahanga to Rarotonga. A subsequent safety assessment by

Maritime New Zealand Maritime New Zealand (New Zealand Maritime Safety Authority) is a Crown entity and also a state maritime safety authority responsible for protecting the maritime transport sequence and marine environment within New Zealand and maintaining safety ...

found significant failings on the company's ships, and as a result the ''MV Grinna II'' was approved to carry only 12 passengers while the passenger licences for the ''MV Maungaroa II'' and ''MV Lady Moana'' were withdrawn. While the ships were detained, the northern islands ran out of imported food and petrol. In 2020 the ''MV Maungaroa II'' was taken out of service pending sale, and a larger vessel, the ''MV Maungaroa III'', was purchased to replace it. On 21 March 2022 the ''Grinna II'' ran aground on the reef at

. The vessel was deemed unsalvageable.

Fleet

Current

Past

References

{{reflist Companies of the Cook Islands Transport organisations based in the Cook Islands Shipping companies of Oceania