Ports and wharves

Regional Harbourmaster contact details

Phone 03 543 8400

Email the habourmaster

VHF channel 16

Tasman District Council, 189 Queen Street, Richmond, Nelson, 7020, New Zealand

Port Tarakohe Manager contact details

Phone 03 525 8174 or 027 446 3891

Email the port manager

VHF channels 28 or 60

Licensing and regulatory requirements apply to commercial vessel operators in the Tasman District region.

Licences are required, and must be renewed by 31 October each year.

More information

Read about commercial vessel licensing requirements

Got questions?

To request more information or to discuss a proposed operation, please contact us on 03 543 8400 or email the Harbourmaster.

Fuel and water supplies are available at several wharves and marinas around the district.

Fuel

All marine fuel transfer points (shore to ship) must have a Tier-1 Site Oil Spill Contingency Plan approved by Council’s Regional On-Scene Commander (ROSC), under Maritime Rules.

Maritime New Zealand enforces these rules, and severe penalties apply for failure to have such a plan in place when a fuel transfer occurs.

• Visit the Maritime NZ website for more information on oil spills.

If you are ordering a fuel delivery from a mobile tanker, check that they are approved by asking the supplier to produce their approved Tier-1 plan, or contact the Regional On-Scene Commander on 03 543 8400.

Petrol

There are no permanent marine fuelling points for petrol in Tasman District. Small craft users can obtain petrol using portable containers from standard service stations within easy walking distance of the ramps at Kaiteriteri and Collingwood.

Diesel

There are two diesel marine fuelling points in the district. Port users may use the site at the main wharf at Port Tarakohe using an NPD fuel card.

There is also a pump intended for fishing vessels at Talley’s wharf at Port Motueka. Contact Talley’s on 03 528 2800 to arrange access.

Other fuel oils

Certain mobile tanker operators are approved to transfer Light Fuel Oil at certain wharves in the District. In general however, ships requiring Light Fuel Oil and heavier oils should bunker at Port Nelson.

Water

Potable water is available at the wharves and marinas at Māpua, Motueka and Tarakohe.

Water is also available from the following locations. Those marked with a * are not necessarily from a designated drinking water supply, so should be treated with caution.

• Buoyed hose at Kaiteriteri. Contact Wilson’s Abel Tasman Ltd on 03 528 2028. Charges may apply.
  
  
• Buoyed hose in small cove on northern side of Bark Bay at 40°54.889’S ; 173°03.400’E.
  
  
• Waitapu Wharf*

*Note: This water is known to be contaminated with faecal coliforms and should be treated before use. Recommended methods are boiling or batch treating with chlorine at a rate of 3g/m³ (e.g a bottle-capful of Clor-o-gene or Budget Household Bleach per 100L).

All vessels are required to comply with marine pollution regulations. This section advises how to deal with waste properly.

Sewage

It is prohibited to discharge untreated sewage within 500 metres of shore or a marine farm, 200 metres of a marine reserve, or in water less than five metres deep.

This effectively prohibits discharge of untreated sewage within Astrolabe Roadstead, or in the greater Torrent Bay, for example. Urine is acceptable.

There are no pump-out sewage reception facilities in Tasman district. However, for those with cartridge toilets (self-contained camping-type toilets) there are a number of caravan dump points.

• View the campervan waste dumping locations in Tasman District

Rubbish, plastics and oils - stow it, don't throw it!

It is illegal to discharge plastics or oils into the water.

All oil spills into the sea must by law be reported immediately to the Council’s Regional On-Scene Commander on 03 543 8400 or to Maritime New Zealand.

The spiller must also take all safe and practicable steps to contain the spill and minimise environmental harm until trained oil spill response staff are able to assess the spill.

• More information on Council's marine oil spill response

Please retain all rubbish aboard for proper disposal ashore.

• View locations of Resource Recovery Centres

Hull scrapings and anti-fouling paint

Boat hulls that are not routinely trailered should be regularly treated with an anti-fouling paint that complies with the latest environmental protection regulations and guidelines.

A clean hull is more efficient through the water, and helps prevent the spread of unwanted marine pests.

However, there are no dedicated slipways in Tasman district with containment and treatment facilities for what comes off your hull when you are cleaning and painting it.

It is important to contain any biofouling and any chemical contaminants, and dispose of that waste properly, for example to landfill.

Significant penalties can apply under the Resource Management Act or Biosecurity Act for unauthorised discharge of contaminants into the coastal marine area.

If you are unable to trailer or slip your vessel onto dry land, placing a lined tarpaulin under where you are working during careening, and taking it away for disposal at each tide, is generally appropriate for smaller boats.

For small quantities, disposal with your normal household waste is acceptable.

Heavily fouled or large boats should use an appropriate containment facility, for example the commercial haul-outs at Port Nelson.

Your marine retailer will be able to advise on the most appropriate anti-fouling paint.

• More information on vessel cleaning is available from the Ministry for Primary Industries
• Safely Using Anti-fouling Paints - from the Environmental Protection Agency website

Further information

• Environmental protection - requirements for recreational boaties

This section covers general navigation guidelines and safety information.

View Navigation notices

View the Navigation Safety Bylaw

Keep your charts up to date 

The official 'road maps' of the sea are the paper and electronic nautical charts published by Land Information New Zealand. The largest scale chart of the area you are boating in should always be carried, and kept up to date. You can subscribe for free Notices to Mariners at www.linz.govt.nz.

Remember that most electronic chart plotters and GPS units do not update automatically – you must buy a new card after an update.

Report mishaps or groundings

You must report any unintentional grounding or other mishap as soon as practicable to:

• Maritime New Zealand on VHF Channel 16 or by calling 0508 225522, and
• the Tasman District Council Harbourmaster on 03 543 8400

Navigation lights 

All boats must show lights from sunset to sunrise and whenever visibility is restricted when underway or at anchor.

Ensure that you meet the minimum standards for a boat of your size and type. Note that vessels over 7m long must also show a black ball if anchored during the day. A black buoy hung from the forward rail is ideal.

Maritime Rule Part 22 specifies lighting requirements, as well as the 'rules of the road' at sea.

• Part 22 on the Maritime NZ website

For more information visit the Maritime New Zealand website: www.maritimenz.govt.nz

Aids to navigation 

Details of some aids to navigation (marks) are provided below. If you are not familiar with these ‘signposts of the seas’, you should consider taking a boating education course, such as Coastguard Dayskipper or Boatmaster. See the Coastguard website for details.

The basics

The basics are hold red lateral marks on your port (left hand) side and green lateral marks on your starboard (right hand) side when entering a harbour. Obviously, it’s the other way around when departing! When travelling along the coast, hold the green fairway marks on your starboard side when travelling clockwise around the South Island.

Information on the official NZ system of Buoys and Beacons can be found on the Maritime NZ website:

•  New Zealand System of Buoys and Beacons
  

Informal markers

There are number of informal channel marks installed by local users for their own convenience in various parts of the district, particularly Motueka, Riwaka, Waitapu, Milnthorpe and Westhaven Inlet. These should not be relied on for navigation, but are generally tolerated so long as they have minor amenity affects and can’t be confused with genuine (approved) aids to navigation.

Notes

Please notify the Harbourmaster on 03 543 8400 or by email if you find that any aid to navigation has moved or is absent or not functional, or you consider that changes in the channel warrant consideration of repositioning. Please quote the CST number if known.

Any person or organisation wishing to install, remove or alter an aid to navigation should discuss it with the Harbourmaster. A form countersigned by the Harbourmaster must be lodged to apply for formal consent from MaritimeNZ.

Please also note that it is against the law to tie up to or interfere with any aid to navigation, except in a genuine emergency or if you have the written approval of the owner or the Harbourmaster. Avoidable outages of lights or changes in position of navigation marks can endanger lives, and cost the ratepayers to put right.

Port Tarakohe

• Port Tarakohe has cameras located around the Port to monitor activity, health & safety and security risks. The footage from these cameras will be used to support enforcement of charges for the use of facilities at the port. 
• Cargo transferred between vessels within the Port is liable to standard wharfage charges.
• All charges for berths, moorings, storage and leased areas are payable in advance. For any overdue payments a penalty interest charge of 1% per month will be payable. All other payments are due on the 20^th of the month following on standard commercial trade terms.
• All berth, mooring, storage and leased area users are required to sign a current port user agreements when requested by the Port Manager. Any users that refuse to sign a current port user agreement, will vacate their berth, mooring, storage or leased area within 48 hours.
• No storage is permitted on wharf structures unless specifically authorised by the Port Manager in writing. Storage rates apply after 24 hours of cargo/material arriving (allowance to be made for extenuating circumstances such as bad weather). Storage to be in the assigned areas only. Bulk cargo in transit may have extended demurrage with approval of the Port Manager. Failure to comply may result in a “penalty storage charge” of $500 (including GST) being issued and non-removal within 48 hours may incur removal charges and a further fee of $500 (including GST).
• A fixed marine fuelling site, or any mobile fuelling where oils are transferred by way of a hose or similar between shore-and-ship, or ship-to-ship, is required to have a Tier-1 Fuel Transfer Site Oil Spill Contingency Plan approved in advance by the Council’s Regional On-Scene Commander. This does not apply to the transfer of self-contained fuel containers (tote tanks, sealed drums or similar) from shore-to-ship or ship-to-ship. The Council as Port Operator has full control over any activities conducted within the Port and therefore approval in writing is required before any fuel transfer is permitted – any approvals will also be subject to per litre charges. Failure to seek approval and comply with Council’s requirements will incur a fine of $2,000 plus the costs of the activity that would normally apply and any costs of clean up/damage repair.
• The charges may be varied (including discounts for long term bulk contracts and wharf berthage) during the year by the Chief Executive Officer where special circumstances exist. 
• Discounts for long-term bulk contracts and long-term wharf berthage can be approved by the Property & Enterprises Manager.

  Wharfage	Charges	Proposed charges from 1 July 2024 incl. GST
  Fish and shellfish  Includes all marine animals	$29.00/tonne	$32.00/tonne
  Fuel and oil  Other than fixed facility, and fuel transfer only – no storage	$0.10/litre	$0.12/litre
  General cargo	$12.00/tonne	$15.00/tonne
  Passengers   Where no vessel berthed	$10.00/person	$11.00/person
  Vehicles (includes vehicle passengers)
  Cars and motorbikes up to 6m	$30.00/vehicle
  Light vehicles incl. cars with trailers up to 12.6m	$60.00/vehicle
  Heavy vehicles and any vehicles over 12.6m	$90.00/vehicle
  Over-dimension, overweight and HMPV vehicles	$14.00/tonne
  Boat movements (Includes refloating etc.)	$35.00/tonne	$40.00/tonne
  Weighbridge   All truck movements > 1.5 tonne	$8.00/entry/exit	$9.00/entry/exit