Fuel crisis: Ships unload at Tauranga port

Another load of petroleum was delivered to the Port of Tauranga this morning, as New Zealand's fuel crisis continues.

The import vessel Stena Paris arrived in port at 9am.

Refining New Zealand spokesman Andrew McNaught said the vessel was expected to discharge regular petrol and diesel in Tauranga.

"It will then travel to Lyttelton, arriving on Sunday, to deliver additional regular petrol, jet and diesel. It will then travel to Bluff discharging regular petrol and diesel," he said.

He was confident there would be no widespread petrol or diesel shortage in Auckland as it was being trucked in from other parts of the country, including Tauranga.

Yesterday, coastal vessel Matuku unloaded 36 million litres of petrol and diesel at the port.

Tankers would be operating 24/7 to deliver it to Auckland.

Port of Tauranga chief executive Mark Cairns said fuel tankers generally called at the port every 10 days.

"We are not seeing any increased frequency at this stage, rather that the vessels are coming in more heavily laden and exchanging greater discharges."

He could not disclose normal shipping volumes due to commercial sensitivity but said the port handled around 1.5 million tonnes of oil products annually.

The crisis was sparked by the discovery of damage to a section of the pipeline that directly connected the Marsden Point Refinery to Auckland International Airport.

The pipeline was shut down last Thursday.