TSMV Kaiapoi II 1949-1973

The fourth ship in the Union Steam Ship Company's AC class, the Kaiapoi was built by Henry Robb in 1949. The AC class was a specialised class of coastal coal-carrying ships designed during World War Two, with eight ships built in total.

As with the Kaitawa, the Kaiapoi served as a coastal coal carrier out of the West Coast. In 1967, the ship lost its engines and came close to sinking, a similar fate to sibling ship the Kaitawa, which in 1966 foundered then sank in heavy, stormy weather over the Pandora Bank, roughly 8 kilometres from Cape Reinga. The Kaiapoi went on to serve the Company reliably for 19 years before it was sold it to the E K Litonjua Steamship Company Incorporated, a Manila based company, who renamed it the Eddie KL.

The Eddie KL sailed for another five years before being sold to Continental Shipbreaking Co Ltd in Hong Kong. The ship was dismantled in 1973.