Northland dry dock business case

The proposition of a dry dock large enough to service New Zealand’s bigger commercial vessels (e.g. interisland ferries) has been considered for several years by local and central Government, as well as industry bodies. It is something the sector are highly supportive of.

Currently, larger New Zealand vessels need to travel offshore to Australia or Southeast Asia to get serviced, which presents resilience issues, produces additional carbon emissions, and increases the cost of doing coastal business in New Zealand.  

Northport have progressed their own work in this area, such as including a dry dock facility in their Vision For Growth strategy, but the question remains as to whether a dry dock is something that the Government should formally support. We are seeking to undertake a business case process to inform future decision making.