Residents Challenge $500 Million Shipyard Site
Residents of Marsden Bay are urging the Government to relocate a proposed $500 million shipyard and drydock due to fears the fast-tracked project will impact nearby homes. The Marsden Bay Residents Association warns that the current western site could bring ship-maintenance operations within 375 meters of homes, threatening the community with noise, air quality impacts, and potential health impacts.
The Case for a Northport Shift
While the association supports the Marsden Point drydock, they argue the project should be moved about 2 kilometers east to Northport’s existing wharf and maritime precinct. Captain Paul Hines, a member of the association with over 40 years of maritime experience, stated that the western location is a “dead duck.”
Hines argues that the eastern site offers a more logical fit, grouping maritime infrastructure within the established port area and away from residential areas including Marsden Bay, Marsden Cove, and One Tree Point. Beyond the buffer zone, the eastern site boasts a natural water depth of 17 meters. By comparison, the proposed western site sits at a depth of 7 meters, a discrepancy that would necessitate substantially more dredging and be considerably more expensive.
Fast-Tracked Infrastructure Goals
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones has positioned the project as regionally and nationally significant, particularly to service new inter-island ferries. To support the build, the government has ring-fenced $100 million from its regional infrastructure fund.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) submitted the application to the Environmental Protection Authority on August 20. Following its completion on September 17, the proposal is now heading to an independent expert panel via the government’s fast-track process. The facility aims to provide a domestic hub for hull cleaning and maintenance, allowing large ships to undergo these services in New Zealand instead of travelling to overseas facilities in places such as Sydney and Singapore.
Ecological and Public Health Risks
The scale of the construction is significant. The plan requires reclaiming almost 14 rugby fields of publicly accessible harbour space and dredging more than 753,000 cubic meters of material. The project footprint overlaps with the 198-hectare One Tree Point to Marsden Bay Significant Ecological Area, with just under 10 hectares of marine habitat slated for permanent removal.
Project documentation admits that noise levels in Marsden Bay and Reotahi may at times be “higher than desirable,” particularly during hull blasting. Air quality assessments indicate that several paint-related contaminants could exceed health-based guideline values if sprayed without containment. While the facility proposes restricting hammering, grinding and blasting to daytime hours, it is seeking the ability to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The Uncertain Path Forward
Community anxiety remains high regarding the impact of hull blasting, which deals with potentially hazardous materials in ship coatings, including asbestos in older vessels, and paints containing lead, copper and zinc. Residents have expressed that they would have preferred the proposal to proceed through conventional resource consenting rather than the fast-track process, which limited opportunities for community feedback.
As the project sits before the expert panel, the government has yet to provide a specific response to the request for relocation or address the selection of the western site. The next step is for the expert panel to consider the application, determine the appropriate parties to engage with, seek further information if required and decide whether to approve or decline it.
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