The Country
  • The Country home
  • Latest news
  • Audio & podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life
  • Listen on iHeart radio

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Coast & Country News
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Horticulture
  • Animal health
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life

Media

  • Podcasts
  • Video

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whāngarei
  • Dargaville
  • Auckland
  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Hamilton
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Te Kuiti
  • Taumurunui
  • Taupō
  • Gisborne
  • New Plymouth
  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Whanganui
  • Palmerston North
  • Levin
  • Paraparaumu
  • Masterton
  • Wellington
  • Motueka
  • Nelson
  • Blenheim
  • Westport
  • Reefton
  • Kaikōura
  • Greymouth
  • Hokitika
  • Christchurch
  • Ashburton
  • Timaru
  • Wānaka
  • Oamaru
  • Queenstown
  • Dunedin
  • Gore
  • Invercargill

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / The Country

Napier Port back in business after swells keep ships at bay for four days

By Laura Wiltshire
Hawkes Bay Today·
27 Jul, 2019 10:52 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

The first ship arriving into Napier Port after heavy swells stopped shipping operations for four days. Photo / Ian Cooper

The first ship arriving into Napier Port after heavy swells stopped shipping operations for four days. Photo / Ian Cooper

Ships have returned to Napier Port after swells lead to a four-day, unprecedented halt on vessels coming in to dock.

General manager of container operations Warren Young said large swells which hit the East Coast on Wednesday had dropped enough to start operations again.

"Swells are on the way down, so we are now operating under normal marine parameters which means we were able to bring two log vessels in.

"As always, we'll assess each subsequent move on conditions and vessel size."

The closure did not affect landside operations.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Heavy fog on Saturday morning also caused disruptions for those flying in and out of Hawke's Bay Airport.

An Air New Zealand spokesperson said several flights were cancelled due to the weather.

MetService Metrologist Tom Adams said the fog was caused by a mass of warm air sitting over the region, which cools overnight.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"If there is no wind what happens is the ground cools down faster than the air above it.

"As the ground cools down faster than the air above it, it cools the bit of air which is directly above the ground faster than higher up."

Heavy swells which hit Hawke's Bay last week. Photo / Paul Taylor
Heavy swells which hit Hawke's Bay last week. Photo / Paul Taylor

This creates a layer of cold air near the surface, and the water in the air condenses, forming water droplets, causing fog.

Adams said wind clears the fog more quickly, as it mixes the cold, surface air with the warmer air above it dispersing it.

Discover more

Napier Port is on the sharemarket, as bell rings out

19 Aug 11:30 PM

"If you don't have the wind then you have to wait for the sun to basically warm that colder air up.

"If it's been a really cold night, then that layer of cold air near the surface will be thicker, and it will take the sun longer to burn through it."

Going forward, Adams said there may be a few more foggy mornings, but with the wind expected to pick up mid-week, they are likely to clear.

"Winds are gradually picking up.

"You're staying in the same humid air mass really until we get through to Wednesday night.

"In terms of winds, winds do pick up Tuesday night."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He said Monday would likely be fine, with cloud thickening on Tuesday with possible showers.

"The rain develops on Wednesday and it turns southerly and colder on Thursday."

By 11am it was still a struggle to see the ocean from the Ātea a Rangi Celestial Compass. Photo / Ian Cooper
By 11am it was still a struggle to see the ocean from the Ātea a Rangi Celestial Compass. Photo / Ian Cooper

"After that we are in a southwesterly flow, so actually things should improve on Friday for Hawke's Bay."

He said, while it was still quite far out, they are expecting to see an improving trend going into next weekend.

Temperatures are expected to be above average for this time of year, at least for the start of the week.

Monday will see a high of 15C, dropping to 5C overnight.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

It is expected to reach 17C on Tuesday, dropping to 4C.

From Wednesday the temperatures will start to drop, reaching 14C with an overnight low of 2C, and Thursday will be 13C.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from The Country

The Country

Beekeeper advocacy group comes under pressure

The Country

The Country: Luxon on coalition friction

The Country

Man lost wife and daughter in Waiuku triple-fatal


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from The Country

Beekeeper advocacy group comes under pressure
The Country

Beekeeper advocacy group comes under pressure

Rifts among industry groups, charities and agencies in the beekeeping industry.

16 Jul 03:00 AM
The Country: Luxon on coalition friction
The Country

The Country: Luxon on coalition friction

16 Jul 01:42 AM
Man lost wife and daughter in Waiuku triple-fatal
The Country

Man lost wife and daughter in Waiuku triple-fatal

16 Jul 12:37 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP