New Zealand court clears Tauranga to dredge shipping channel to 15 metres

A NEW ZEALAND High Court ruling has cleared the way for the Port of Tauranga to dredge its shipping channel to 15 metres, 3.3 metres more than its current depth, making the harbour at full build-out accessible to 8,000-TEU ships, which is now limited to 4,000-TEUers.

The NZ$35 million (US$28.9 million) first stage, likely to take six months, will give access to 6,000-TEUers, reports the New Zealand Herald.

Justice John Priestley dismissed the appeal of the Ngati Ruahine hapu, saying he was satisfied with the decision reached by the Environment Court last year and he could not see any "errors of law".

Mr Ruahine had appealed against the Environment Court's decision, claiming the court had not properly considered how the consent conditions would provide for the relationship between the native New Zealanders.

The dredging will cause some disturbance to pipi beds and kaimoana fishing grounds, but Justice Priestley said the Environment Court had carefully and correctly weighed the adverse cultural effects and balanced them against the national and regional significance of the Port of Tauranga.

Said port property manager Tony Reynish: "It is a very important decision for New Zealand's exporters and importers who stand to benefit significantly from the gradual introduction of bigger ships which are more cost and fuel efficient. It keeps the Tauranga at the forefront of New Zealand ports."

The dredging will be carried out in two stages, with the first stage unlikely to start for at least another year. Before dredging can begin, modelling work needs to be completed to determine just how much sand will need to be removed from the channel to allow the bigger ships through.