Since the port returned to council ownership it has been run on a shoestring, with two main staff and an assortment of part-timers, including Greg Robinson who captains the pilot boat that brings vessels in and out.
In the 2010-2011 year it had 173 visits by vessels researching the feasibility of mining ironsand, three visits by fishing boats, and 22 visits by coastal freighters the Anatoki and McManaway Tug and Barge, which moved 17,000 tonnes of fertiliser.
Its two large sheds are used for storage with the potential to be used for processing to add value and provide further income. They are full, with one end of the Victory Shed leased to a recycling business.
Part of the port picture is the slipway used by Coastguard and about 120 trailer fishing boats on a good day. It costs $20,000 a year to dredge the slipway and marina area to maintain depth for those boats.
The facilities at the port were built in the 1930s for freight shipping, and still used for that, despite being barely maintained ever since.
Wharf 1, the seaward one, has the deepest water and is probably the only one worth keeping operational for freight.
The big question is whether the port has a future with freight at all, Mr McGregor said.
If it did, that future would only be with "bulk, low value, time flexible" cargo.
The trade in fertiliser heading north and south could be increased. The shipping of poles to the South Island ceased in 2008 with the credit crunch.
There is the capacity to grow trailer boat revenue though, by providing a secure compound for storing the boats. The $20,000 cost of keeping the slipway dredged could be reduced by moving it seaward to deeper water, or moving it to the Q-West Boat Builders yard and sharing the dredging costs.
Another profitable possibility for the future was in the small boats servicing large ironsand mining vessels anchored offshore - if mining happens. With maintenance, food supply and crew changes that could be lucrative.
The port area needs an estimated $5 million worth of maintenance. Some of that work would be to maintain deep water alongside the wharves and slipway.
In June, Wanganui District Council asked for expressions of interest in running the port. It advertised in major newspapers and also sent documents to parties that could be interested. They included transport companies and ports in the lower North Island and South Island.
The council got eight replies, and had now narrowed them down to a short list of four interested parties, in both the North and South Islands.
No decision was likely for the next four to five months, Mr McGregor said.
What sort of repair work was done, and how much money the council was prepared to commit to it would depend on proposals from the parties.
PORT FUNDING
$270,000 net income from harbour endowment properties
currently covers the port's losses
Port repairs could cost $5million
WANGANUI PORT 2010-11
173 visits by ships doing ironsand research
3 visits by fishing boats
22 visits by coastal freighters/tug and barges
17,000 tonnes of fertiliser shifted
7 berths leased by the month
