Port reopens after cyclone
Ports of Auckland Ltd (POAL) has reopened for business after suspending its operations for more than two days because of the dangers posed by Cyclone Gabrielle.
Port of Tauranga and Napier Port have also been closed to vessels this week as heavy rainfall and strong winds have created hazards for land and waterside operations.
While the cyclone’s worst impacts have been felt in the North Island, “difficult sea conditions” have also affected activity at Lyttelton Port Company (LPC) in the South Island.
POAL closed at 3pm on Sunday, February 12, as the wild weather from Gabrielle started to take its toll on New Zealand.
The company says on social media it resumed limited operations on the afternoon of Tuesday, February 14, to prepare for a full restart at 7am on Wednesday, February 15.
“The worst of Cyclone Gabrielle has now passed Auckland … The port infrastructure has held up well, but the team at Ports of Auckland will be busy over the next few weeks as we recover from the lost operational time,” it adds.
“Our thoughts are with those who have personally been impacted by the recent weather events.”
A POAL spokesperson told Newsroom it was too soon to understand the cyclone’s impact on the wider supply chain with rail, road and distribution centres disrupted. They estimated it may take a couple of weeks for the port to get back to where it was pre-storm.
Port of Tauranga closed on Sunday with piloting operations shut down for 48 hours due to swell before it reopened fully on Tuesday.
Napier Port also cleared all vessels out on Sunday and closed its gates the following day “ahead of the onset of the most severe weather”. It expected to remain shut until at least noon on Wednesday and shipping is not expected to recommence until later in the week.
Wellington’s CentrePort has continued operating as normal and LPC also remains open for business. However, LPC posted a message to social media on Wednesday saying staff will be monitoring the weather over the coming days as the tail end of the cyclone passes through Canterbury.
“As the impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle reach Canterbury, our operational teams have been watching closely and are following our processes for dealing with extreme weather events,” it says.
“While we are significantly less impacted than our whanau in the North Island, we are seeing more difficult sea conditions, along with high winds forecasted.
“On Tuesday we cleared our container wharfs and the cruise berth due to infragravity waves. Shipping movements are expected to return to normal on Thursday.”
