The vessels flew both Howard Smith and Coastal Tankers flags.
Captain Tommy Smith had Kuaka’s flag lowered for a sketch in June 1995 and described its blue as teal. The white flag has a narrow black hoist strip. Its central panel depicts a black funnel with a white fern, above a teal baton and then a black baton separated by white. Teal triangular panels flank it: the hoist triangle touches the centre, while a white gap separates the fly triangle. The Log’s version differs in making both triangles touch. Rosanoski suggests, without certainty, that the triangles might represent the two main islands with a tanker between.
Kotuku’s flag, photographed at Wellington on 11 June 1998, appears to have a narrower emblem moved towards the hoist, leaving roughly half the fly blank in a flag still apparently 2:3. White separates both triangles from the central panel. The teal matches the funnel. On the funnel the fern angles aft on both sides; the lower white band is twice the width of the upper, and the teal band twice as wide again. Rosanoski notes that unchanged funnel markings might indicate continued use of the flag after the change of operator.
Coastal Tankers, or CTL, was incorporated on 27 April 1993, though Lloyds gives formation in 1994 to operate the New Zealand Oil Consortium’s vessels. It took over tanker management from Union Shipping on 15 November 1994. The company was a joint venture of the New Zealand interests of Caltex, Mobil, Shell-Royal Dutch and BP. One account describes restructuring as Silver Fern from 1 October 2000. The original company was struck off in September 2002 after liquidation, replaced by a namesake incorporated that month and struck off in December 2008.
New Zealand, Wellington.
Keep the explicit scope label independent; no alias or company identity is inferred.