Kawatiri dredging vessel departs Whanganui Port early over inclement weather concerns

The Kawatiri dredging vessel is departing Whanganui Port earlier than scheduled. Photo / Whanganui Port

Buller District Council’s dredging vessel Kawatiri, which has been working at the Whanganui Port, is leaving early for the South Island due to approaching bad weather.

In a joint statement, Whanganui Port and Buller District Council said the vessel would leave for Westport on Wednesday after a “challenging but worthwhile week of working in Whanganui”.

The Kawatiri arrived in Whanganui on August 15 and was expected to complete the dredging work on August 31. The visit was timed around the approaching whitebaiting season.

The 55m vessel was to use its cutter (rotating cutting tool) suction head, mounted to the bow, to dig its way down and move the material through a pipe out to the awa.

MetService has forecast showers and reasonably strong winds for Whanganui as the winds shift to westerlies later this week.

Buller District Council’s corporate services group manager Paul Numan said considerable tidal and river runs produced some challenging conditions for the team during the week of work.

The crew prepared for mobilisation on August 23-24 as they awaited final parts for the new Bell pump to clear Customs and arrive on-site.

Once the parts were received, the crew worked to weld and position the floating discharge line ready for deployment.

Despite these difficulties, they had several productive days getting to grips with operating the new equipment and troubleshooting issues, such as pipe blockages.

Whanganui Port’s general manager Geoff Evans supported the decision to cease operations for health and safety reasons.

“While the timeframe for this project was always going to be tight, we had confidence in this trial proceeding successfully,” Evans said.

“It is unfortunate that it has not worked out this way, but at least we have had the opportunity to trial a larger-scale solution in the port basin.

“If nothing else, the trial has again identified the challenging environment we are working in, and that there is no ‘quick fix’.”

Evans said Whanganui Port would look at alternative solutions to ensure the port channel remained clear and at a depth for Q-West’s upcoming operations.

Meanwhile, the Kawatiri will have its equipment tested to determine its full capability before returning to Whanganui Port in the future.

The time spent in Whanganui had been a valuable pilot exercise using the RIF-funded Bell pump “and a number of valuable learnings will be taken forward for work both back in Westport and in other ports around New Zealand”, the council said.

The Murphy’s Civil dredge will continue to work at the travel lift area, which means the Wharf St boat ramp will remain closed due to stockpiling within the channel.

The port will reopen the boat ramp once work is complete. In the meantime, boat operators can access the river from the Pūtiki boat ramp.

Port work, undertaken by Whanganui District Council, is part of the Te Pūwaha partnership, which brings together the council, iwi, Horizons Regional Council, Q-West Boat Builders and Whanganui District Employment Training Trust.

Fin Ocheduszko Brown is a multimedia journalist based in Whanganui