The Grey District Council-owned Port of Greymouth has now completed the first stage of the slipway renewal and upgrade.
The work included the construction of a large shed, and new larger winch and slipway equipment.
The large shed enables boats to be worked on out of the weather and around the clock if needed.
The upgraded winching equipment enable boats up to 90 ton to be slipped.
The work means the Greymouth slipway is now operational again at the port, and bookings are strong for the foreseeable future.
The winch was funded by the Government, through the Provincial Growth Fund.
Fishing boats and other commercial vessels are required to come out of the water on a regular basis for maintenance and inspection.
This facility enables boats to be pulled onto land – dry dock - for these repairs and checks.
Council group manager economic development and regulatory servicesPeter O’Sullivan, said bookings were strong for the slipway for the foreseeable future.
“We are now attracting boats from Napier, Canterbury and other parts of New Zealand.
“Our fees are seen as reasonable, and the new covered facility is very popular with boat owners,” Mr O’Sullivan said.
Greymouth had a good, solutions-focused engineering industry, where boat owners and crew were able to find appropriate trades people, Mr O’Sullivan said.
Boats must come out of the water every few years for their marine certification.
“We are looking forward to a good stream of work at the Port of Greymouth,” Mr O’Sullivan said.
He is looking at further ways the port can benefit the West Coast, by attracting vessels from all around New Zealand for dry dock and storage.
The council is finalising plans for berthing facilities on the Blaketown side, which will likely involve the removal of the old pens and replacing them with another floating jetty, similar to the town side. This has Government Regional Infrastructure funding (RIF).
“We are also looking at how we can better service the needs of those moored, with toilet and ablution facilities.”
Plans are underway to further increase the size of the boats able to be slipped from the current 90 tons to 150 ton, once a further planned upgrade of the underwater rails is completed.
Everything is up and running apart from the upgrade to those underwater rails which need to be strengthened to carry the weight of boats weighing more than 90 ton.
“We are talking with Central Government about that, and how it may be funded,” Mr O’Sullivan said.
The winch shed is a two-level structure, with the lower level housing the winch and the mezzanine level containing the hydraulic power pack and electronic hardware.
This elevated design ensures critical equipment remains functional even during floods.
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