Backgrounder
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Northport background information
Northport is situated at Marsden Point at the mouth of Whangarei Harbour. It is New Zealand’s northernmost deep-water port. It is a flexible facility catering for large, multi-purpose vessels and full cargo handling facilities are available from its 570m linear berth.
Logs, woodchip and processed timber for export comprise the bulk of cargo handled by the port, although it is also seeing growth in coastal and international container traffic. Other export items include kiwifruit, dairy products and manufactured goods. Imports are an important part of Northport’s business and include project cargoes, fertiliser, gypsum, coal and animal feeds.
The port also welcomes cruise ships visiting the Whangārei region.
Northport is a subsidiary of Northport Group Limited owned by Port of Tauranga, Northland Regional Council and the Ngāpuhi investment fund Tupu Tonu.
The back story
The Northland Harbour Board, the controlling port authority at the time, first proposed a port facility at Marsden Point in the late 1960s. It was not until 1976 that the proposal was moved ahead with the first of several environmental reports. The plan lost traction during the 1980s and it wasn’t until the Northland Port Corporation was formed in 1988 that it re-gained momentum.
Northland’s forestry industry was slowly increasing in production and was the catalyst for eventual construction. Final consents for a two-berth facility were finally granted and in 2000 the Northland Port Corporation entered into a joint venture with the Port of Tauranga to form Northport Ltd.
Construction was started in 2000 and the first log-ship ship was loaded in June 2002. In 2004 consents were obtained for the construction of the third and fourth berths. Construction of the third berth started in late 2005 and was completed in October 2007.
In April 2007 Port Whangarei was closed to commercial shipping and all cargo operations were transferred to Northport.
Common user facility
More than 427 companies are registered for entry onto the port
The port is a common user facility, with around 300 people working here for a variety of organisations. These include North Tugz, C3 Ltd, Qube Ports NZ, Forest Loaders, Genera and Marusumi.
Also, shipping agencies, NZ Customs and MPI all have representatives based within the port.
Each organisation operating at Northport is responsible for the safety of its own staff, and for the necessary training that will allow staff to work safely and in safety.
As of 1 July 2024 our safety regulator became Maritime New Zealand – from the gates to the ship.
The port itself employs about 35 full time employees and seven casual staff.
Containers
Volume of container traffic increased from 820 TEU in 2016/17 to 18,376 TEU in 24/25
- The port is a ‘one-stop shop’ for importers and exporters; can receive and store cargo, pack and devan containers, provide VGM compliance certification, and load or unload containers using our two mobile harbour cranes.
- More refrigerated containers being shipped through Northport; including kiwifruit, meat and dairy.
Container handling: 2x Konecranes Gottwald Mobile Harbour Cranes
- Can serve container vessels up to post-Panamax class.
- First crane (100 tonnes) installed in April 2015; second (125 tonnes) in February 2020.
- Second crane increased productivity of dedicated container vessels using the port; provides resilience.
- In addition to containers, extends Northport’s flexibility in handling heavy project cargo.
New Zealand and worldwide container services
CMA CGM links Northport customers year-round to anywhere in their worldwide network. This uses a weekly call from Pacifica Shipping which also provides container services to Christchurch. This option bypasses any State Highway 1 detours, Auckland traffic and the Cook Strait and gives shippers more options to reduce their carbon footprint and improve supply chain resilience and efficiency.
CMA’s seasonal Panama service to Europe was introduced as a direct call to Northport during the 2022 Kiwifruit export window; three calls left Northport on a trial basis. The uptake and service was good so frequency has been increased since 2023, shipping hundreds of containers of high-value exports from the region direct to the East Coast of the US and Europe.
Swire Shipping operates a North Asia service for break-bulk cargo, and MOVe Oceans, the shipping division of freight and logistics specialist MOVe Logistics Group, runs a monthly break-bulk trans-Tasman service linking Northport with Brisbane and Port Alma in Queensland, and Tasmania’s Bell Bay.
Cruise
Northport welcomed its first cruise ships in 2024, with further calls completed and booked subsequently. It is working with its partners Whangarei District Council, Northland Inc and Northland Chamber of Commerce to build Whangarei Cruise over coming years.
Simulation, training and port development capability
Ship simulator
Training options for the New Zealand marine services sector have broadened considerably thanks to a ship simulator and training facility we have established on site at Northport. It can be used for a wide range of maritime training programmes and gives operators options beyond sending staff to Australia for training and aptitude testing, or enduring long waits for training windows in New Zealand. The simulator replicates the environment on the bridge of a ship or tug, or in a local port service centre.
The facility can be configured to simulate any port in New Zealand. It enables pilots, tug-masters, and local port service operators to train and prepare for changes to their operating environment such as the development of new berths or changes to channels and turning basins. We are currently reviewing proposed navigation aid changes in the Upper Whangarei Harbour.
The system can also be used as part of a port’s emergency response training.
We are offering a range of training courses for up to six people at a time. These include Local Port Services courses; pilot professional development and annual assessment; bridge resource management and error management; PPU training; and tugmaster and bargemaster training.
Port operations and design
Our ship simulator has been an important tool in helping us to plan and prepare for large container ship calls at Northport in recent months. We use the equipment to examine, as part of the overall risk assessment, the effects on these ships of significant environmental occurrences here at the port.
For instance, as part of the planning for the arrival of the 261m ‘Constantinos P’ we simulated thunderstorm activity with associated heavy rain, reduced visibility and winds gusting up to 50 knots.
In addition to helping us with our own operations here at Northport the simulator has expanded significantly the planning options available to other port operators and the New Zealand marine service sector generally. It is available for organisations around the country to model any port’s expansion and evolution, giving them the ability to project and study the feasibility of any proposed changes to a port’s design or operating environment.
It will show the impact on navigation of changes to berths, changes to shipping channels and improvements in navigational aids. It can be adjusted to consider any changes to the port, or the use of differing ship types such as container ships, bulk cargo ships, car carriers and cruise liners.
We undertook a feasibility study around the construction of a dry dock for the country’s marine industry as part of our Vision for Growth planning exercise. We used the simulator to test and prove the concept, along with different options for configuration and location. Vessel movement, turning capabilities, tug operations and other factors were tested extensively against many variables and in many different operating conditions.
We also used it in our investigation into how to future-proof the upper North Island vehicle import industry with a potential new business model. This would see cars discharged from vessels directly to purpose-built storage, vehicle preparation and distribution facilities immediately outside the port. All in a single movement. We used the simulator to model and prove the seaward-side operations.
Crane and container-handling simulation
We can also provide crane operator training and aptitude testing with a separate CM Labs mobile harbour and ship-crane simulator. Following recent investment in container-handling equipment Northport also provides reach-stacker simulation training module for its operators.
Land holdings
Northport Group Ltd owns 65 hectares of land at Marsden Point which abuts directly onto Northport’s boundary. These land holdings are available for lease to companies wishing to make use of the Northport facility.
It also owns more than 115 hectares behind this area, zoned as Business 2 and 4. This is available for long-term lease to companies wanting to make use of the port.
Off-highway access to Northport is available from this area, meaning that normally overweight loads can be transported directly from a site to a ship’s side without a permit.
That’s a combined potential non-port area of 180ha, more than twice the area of the 77ha available at Ports of Auckland.
