Common passage plan coming for commercial vessels in Sounds

A new common passage plan to standardise the route all large commercial ships take through the Marlborough Sounds is a great example of collaboration, says Council’s Harbourmaster.

“This project has only been made possible due to the positive collaboration between the various parties to ensure that the changes made to achieve a common passage plan are achievable for users,” Harbourmaster Captain

Jake Oliver said.

The Marlborough Common Passage

Plan has been developed by the Harbourmaster in consultation with

Port Marlborough NZ, Interislander and Bluebridge ferry operators and was presented to Council’s Environment and Planning Committee. It takes effect from 1 April with a transition period for shipping operators to adopt the new plan up to 31 July. Monitoring will take place from August to September. “A passage plan outlines a vessel’s voyage from berth to berth - from the time it leaves the dock or harbour, the voyage itself and through to approaching its destination and mooring,” Captain Oliver said.

The project stems from a need to define the water space required for commercial shipping within the Sounds. A report produced in 2020 also identified opportunities to assist with risk management in Kura Te Au/Tory Channel and one recommendation was to consolidate the passage plans used by the ferry operators so that a common approach is followed by all ships and pilots.

There are currently three operational passage plans within Tōtaranui/Queen Charlotte Sound - one for Bluebridge and Interislander, and a third for Port Marlborough. Although the plans are similar, there are differences,

Captain Oliver said.

“As ferries develop and boat traffic increases, there is a need for a common passage plan which standardises the routes these large commercial ships take. This helps Council in its statutory role to regulate navigation safety but also gives the operators a shared understanding of how other ships travel through the Sounds,” Captain Oliver said.

“Because the route for ships will be the same under the new common passage plan, it also allows us to publish these for the benefit of other users,” he said. Captain Oliver said the common passage plan also meant reviews of navigation aids - signals or markers - used in the Sounds would be easier and more effective as a result and it would continue to develop pre-pilotage communications for ships.

The new passage plan will standardise how large ships navigate Kura Te Au/Tory Channel such as key turning points like Dieffenbach Point (pictured) - more than 10,000 shipping tracks have been analysed in its development