Excellent month for port despite weather issues

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Despite more than 200 hours of loading time lost due to weather delays Eastland Port still managed to export 286,000 tonnes of cargo last month.

“That's the largest amount we've seen in July for a number of years,” Eastland Group chief operating officer Andrew Gaddum said.

“It was an excellent month considering we had 216 hours of weather delays, and the total was also up from previous years.”

Mr Gaddum said they were seeing noticeable improvements to the backlog of ships in the Bay.

“This has all come down to working closely with the forestry industry and introducing new initiatives that have streamlined the loading process.

“We'd like to make a special mention of the ISO Limited stevedores and marshallers who safely loaded over 10,500 tonnes during a day shift last month,” he said.

“The daily total tallied up to over 19,300 tonnes — well above the average of around 16,000.

“Key efficiencies like this will continue to significantly reduce the current queue of vessels.”