Russell wharf failure in mid-summer irks sailors and tourism operators

The pontoon on Russell wharf has been out of action since January 22 after a pile failed and another was found to be cracked. PHOTO / SUPPLIED

Part of Russell wharf is out of action after it was found to be unsafe — in the middle of the busiest time of year for the Bay of Islands tourist town.

The pontoon is normally used by big commercial vessels such as dolphin cruise boats and the tall ship R Tucker Thompson.

Until the pontoon is replaced they have to share the wharf's southern arm with charter yachts, cruise ship tenders and other vessels.

Council-owned company Far North Holdings, which manages the wharf, says the pontoon was due to be replaced in autumn. Those plans had been expedited but it would take about 10 weeks before the new one was ready.

The pontoon's failure at a crucial time of year has annoyed some boat operators.

Charter sailor Stephen Western said alarm bells about the state of the pontoon should have started ringing two seasons ago when a steel girder between two mooring posts fell off.

"Air New Zealand doesn't wait for wings to fall off before doing something. It services its aircraft first."

Collette Kershaw, who runs the wharf-based Russell Information Centre, said the removal of the pontoon had affected her business because there was less foot traffic coming past.

''It's unfortunate it's happened at this time of year, but what can you do but try to manage it?''

Last week was particularly busy on the wharf with the Millennium Cup and El Dorado fishing tournament coinciding with fine weather and the usual tourism traffic.

The problem came to light in early January when a steel pile failed after taking "a hard hit" from a vessel, Far North Holdings general manager Chris Galbraith said.

As that pile was being removed on January 22 divers discovered another pile had stress cracks.

With the pontoon unable to be used safely a decision was made to remove all the piles while the divers and a barge were on hand. The pontoon and gangway were also removed.

Mr Galbraith said tenders for a replacement pontoon had been issued on January 24. It would be cast concrete, rather than steel, and the new piles would be stronger and more resistant to corrosion.

He expected installing the new pontoon would take 10 weeks.

Mr Galbraith said the pontoon and 20-year-old piles had been scheduled for replacement in April-May, and would have lasted until then if it hadn't been for a one-off incident.

The structure was self-supporting so once one pile was damaged the stress on others increased.

"We have a lot of structures to review and maintain, and they do take a hammering at this time of year," he said.

In an email to wharf users Mr Galbraith said loss of the pontoon would create congestion at the southern end of the wharf at pick-up and drop-off times, so he asked boat operators to keep their time there to a minimum.