More than 40 ships to visit Napier Port in next two weeks

This photo was sent in on Friday morning of ships waiting offshore near Napier Port. Photo / Adrian Wiig

Expect to see more ships around Napier Port this month.

Napier Port CEO Todd Dawson said they had a busy period ahead at the port - with more than 40 ships scheduled during the next two weeks alone.

"April looks set to be a very busy month at the port," Dawson said.

"In the next two weeks alone, we have over 40 vessels scheduled to call which is great for Hawke's Bay.

"The ships are both bringing in imports to the region and loading up exports to take to market.

"It's a wide mix of cargo including apples, meat, canned foodstuffs, logs, oil, paper product and timber. "

In recent days, a growing number of ships have been spotted offshore waiting to come into port.

On Friday, there were seven ships offshore - the most queued in a long time - which appeared to be waiting to come in.

Traditionally, Napier Port's peak season is from February to August, and the port is mainly an export port.

Dawson said poor weather disrupted shipping last week prior to this busy period and "shipping right across New Zealand has been particularly lumpy the past two months".