Gisborne news digest: February shipping shaping up to be busy, silt funding

The cruise ship Norwegian Spirit came back to Gisborne for a second time in late January. Photo / Murray Robertson

In the wake of a busy December, Eastland Port handled limited stock in January.

That contributed to a quieter month when it came to throughput.

A total of 139,000 tonnes of logs were exported on board the five log ships that came calling.

The Silver Nova was one of four successful cruise ship visitors to Tairāwhiti last month. Photo / Murray Robertson

“The cruise season has also continued, and the four visits in January brought around 5000 visitors to our region,” an Eastland Port spokeswoman said.

“Looking ahead, February is shaping up to be a busy month.

“We currently have 11 log vessels booked, and they will load an estimated 280,000 tonnes scheduled for export.”

NHC funding available for silt clean-up

Owners of homes affected by silt left behind in recent flooding events could be eligible for support from the Natural Hazards Commission.

Information about silt removal through the NHC has been posted on the Gisborne District Council Facebook page.

It lists the conditions that need to be met to get funding. Silt must be deeper than 15mm; within 8m of a house or driveway (the driveway must be within 60m of the house); and the homeowner must have fire and burglary insurance “at least”.

Funding is capped and based on land value. No reimbursement will be made for work done before NHC approval.

Information is available at the NHC website.

Meanwhile, the NHC information also said E. coli in silt had died off due to a run of sunny days, but it still advised it was important to avoid inhaling dust during clean-up because of potential health hazards.