Tauranga Marina fire: Crews battle overnight to control boat blazes

A damaged boat after a fire at Tauranga Marina overnight. Photo / Tom Eley

Two boats and a pier have been damaged in an early morning blaze at Tauranga Marina.

Two boats went up in flames about 1.20am.

At the height of the response, five fire trucks and three support vehicles were fighting the blaze, with crews from Tauranga, Mount Maunganui and Greerton stations attending.

A Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesperson said crews were in attendance until 7.15am.

“An investigator is now on the scene.”

A damaged boat after a fire at the Tauranga Marina overnight.

Emergency services were first alerted to multiple vessels on fire at 1.20am and crews contained the blaze to two boats.

Both boats were removed from the water and were awaiting assessment, the spokesperson said.

The boats were placed into a secure yard once the fire was extinguished, a police spokesperson said.

“Because the boat was put in a secure yard, police weren’t required to have a scene guard in place overnight,” the spokesperson said.

Until the Fire and Emergency New Zealand investigator completed their investigation, police could not confirm whether the fire was suspicious.

Smoke can be seen on the Port of Tauranga webcam following multiple boat fires at the Tauranga Marina overnight.

Hato Hone St John was notified of the incident but were not required, a spokesperson confirmed.

Tauranga Marina Society chairman Eric Tate said the pier itself was also damaged.

”The fire has just melted the tiles, they’ve got hot and melted,” Tate said.

”If this had happened at one of the old wooden piers the whole place could have gone up, but it has actually just melted the (plastic) tiles and have acted like a fire break.”

Tate said it was the first incident of this kind since the marina opened.

”It’s up to every individual to get their insurance company to look at their boats, to go from there, really, and then we’ve got our marina insurance guy coming down.

”The marina has been here since 1982 and it’s never had an insurance claim,” Tate said.

”All marina members must be insured, they must have electrical warrant of fitness and have public liability insurance. It’s quite strict criteria to be a member of the society.”

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