Changes to new Christchurch cruise berth will increase $56m price tag

Tuesday, 19 June 2018

The Lyttelton Port Company's new cruise berth has been designed so mega-sized ships can be safely moored in windy conditions. (Video first published in June 2018)

Redesign of Lyttelton's new cruise birth has increased the estimated cost of $56m, and port residents will have to contend with about 18 months of noise from pile driving.

Lyttelton Port Company chief executive Peter Davie said changing the design to minimise impact on protected Hector's dolphins in the harbour and to ensure safe handling of giant cruise ships had added to the cost - 'it will be millions.'

Although talks with a contractor were underway, the final price would not be firmed up until December, and Davie expected any increase to be funded by insurance proceeds and borrowing.

The sheer size of vessels carrying 6000 passengers forced realignment of the berth which will have bollards three times the size of those used in other areas of the port.

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The thrust from propellers on large cruise ships can undermine rock work around wharves and Lyttelton's new cruise berth is being designed to take that into account.

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An impression of a cruise ship moored at Lyttelton's cruise berth which is due to be completed in 2020, a year later than originally planned.

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'We have measured the side of these vessels and they're about 2ha …for these ships we're building 150 tonne bollards; there's no other way when you are in a windy place like this.'

The huge propellers on large cruise ships threw water out at 40 km per hour, which had the potential to damage rock walls on the quay, so designers were looking at building rock 'baskets' to withstand the thrust.

A key change was the size of the piles which would be 90cm in diameter, instead of 1.2m, and the number driven into the sea bed had been reduced by moving the mooring lines back onto land instead of being attached to the wharf.

Reducing the size of the wharf had significantly lowered underwater noise levels, and a marine observer would look out for dolphins so piling work could stop if they ventured too close, Davie said.

Pile driving will begin in early July, occur intermittently six days a week, and take about 18 months.

Piling on the cruise berth will stop if Hectors Dolphins venture too close to the work site.

The work site is closer to housing than the pile driving for Cashin Quay 2, and Davie said the natural amphitheatre of the port meant more residents would be affected by the noise.

The new design did not require resource consent because it fell within the Lyttelton Port Recovery Plan, but Davie said they had applied for consent to allow larger cruise ships berth at the wharf, and for minor dredging work.

The aim was to have the berth open by October 2020, a year later than originally planned, and fishing boats could tie up there during the off season.

Davie said they hoped to confirm a finish date by the end of the year so cruise lines could begin making bookings.

The cruise berth will generate only 3 to 4 per cent of port revenue and Davie makes no apology for prioritising repairs to the container wharves after the earthquakes.

'I get a little frustrated by the tourism people who seem to think tourism is the only game in town, but freight is the bread and butter of this town.

'If we're not moving our meat, our dairy, wool and fish, we don't have a city, so we had to do that work first.'