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Coal-powered TSS Earnslaw steamship looks to go green

One of Queenstown’s most recognisable symbols, the coal-powered TSS Earnslaw, may turn green.

Stephen England-Hall, chief executive of the Earnslaw’s operator RealNZ, said the company was exploring alternative ways to generate steam to fuel the 109-year-old steamship, one of the area’s most famous tourist attractions.

First launched in 1912, the TSS Earnslaw is the oldest coal-fired passenger-carrying steamship in the Southern Hemisphere, he said.

But it is thought to be responsible for one per cent of all transport emissions in the district.