There are four harbours in the Canterbury region, including the two commercial ports - Lyttelton (operated by Lyttelton Port Company Limited(external link)) and Timaru (operated by PrimePort Timaru Limited(external link)) - as well as Akaroa and Kaikōura Harbours. Commercial vessels include all cargo vessels, cruise ships, fishing vessels, ferries and tourism operators throughout the region.
Cruise ships
Find out about how we manage cruise ship activity in our region.
Hot work notification
Notification is required for "Hot Work" (burning, cutting, welding, grinding, or similar heat-related tasks) on vessels in a harbour.
Oil transfer notification
Notification is required to carry out fuel transfer or removal from any vessels.
Fuel tanker arrivals notification
Please fill out the form below to notify your Harbourmaster about your activity.
Maritime rules and compliance for commercial ships
Find out about the guidelines that help us maintain safety, prevent accidents, and promote sustainable maritime practices.
Regional webcams
We operate regional webcams that help us to monitor coastal conditions and track ships.
Key information
Rules, laws and bylaws
We operate under the New Zealand Port and Harbour Marine Safety Code, which provides measures for the safe management of ships in ports and harbours. It includes measures to prevent serious harm to people and the protection of the marine environment. The code is administered by Maritime New Zealand. It is a voluntary code, with most regional councils and port companies in New Zealand having adopted its requirements.
Within Canterbury, the code has been assessed as being applicable to the Lyttelton and Timaru Pilotage Areas, the Kaikōura Peninsula area and Akaroa Harbour. In these areas, a risk assessment has been undertaken for commercial vessel operations and any recreational vessel activities that may have an impact on those operations. A Safety Management System (SMS) has also been implemented, covering all waterways across the region and coastal areas to the 12 nautical mile limit.
Each SMS contains operating procedures that are used along with codes of practice, the Direction (PDF File, 4.2MB) and our Bylaw, to govern the safety of navigation in our region. These are all living documents that are updated at various intervals (the longest being five-yearly for the bylaw) as we learn more over time and are able to incorporate more effective ways of operating.
The Maritime Transport Act 1994 sets out the responsibilities and functions of a regional council and Harbourmaster and provides powers to undertake those functions. The Act also provides for Maritime Rules (the Rules) to be enacted. Our bylaw, the Act, and the rules have requirements, including reporting, for certain operations. Following are the reporting requirements for hot work, pilots and pilot exempt masters, fuel transfers (such as bunkering) and tanker operations, and dangerous goods. The notification of higher risk operations is needed in order to build a coherent and useful picture of risk across the region.
Dangerous goods
The Harbourmaster has elected Maritime Rules Part 24A.86 (2) to receive notifications only of Class 1 dangerous goods.
In practice, this reporting will be done by ships’ agents or the relevant port company who will hold the dangerous goods information on file (and have it available for inspection at any time by the Harbourmaster) rather than send it to the Harbourmaster.
Pilots and Pilot Exempt Masters
Under Maritime Rules Part 90 all pilots and Pilot Exempt Masters must provide a record of their annual port transits and any assessments undertaken during the year to the Harbourmaster during March of each year.
More information can be found in the Direction (PDF File, 4.2 MB).
Discharge rules for vessels
The discharge of garbage, including plastic, incinerator ash, cooking oil, and food waste, is a prohibited activity within Canterbury waters.
There are rules for the discharge of untreated sewage, treated sewage, bilge waste, and other contaminants. Please refer to the discharge rules for vessels (PDF file, 50.68KB) in the Canterbury Coastal Marine Area for details.
Download document: Discharge rules for vessels (PDF file, 50.68KB)