A safe harbour is everyone’s responsibility
Nelson Harbour is a working waterway: a place where commercial shipping, recreational boating, paddleboarding, and sailing all share the same stretch of water. That mix is one of the things that makes our harbour special. But it also means we all need to look out for one another.
Recently, the Nelson Harbourmaster has observed a worrying increase in breaches of exclusion zones while commercial vessels are moving through the cut and dredged channel with tug assistance. Small recreational fishing boats, paddleboarders, and sailors have all been entering these restricted areas during active ship movements, and this is creating real and serious risks to life.
Why this matters
Vessels under pilotage (large commercial ships being guided through the harbour) have extremely limited ability to manoeuvre or take avoiding action. When smaller craft enter the channel during a ship movement, the consequences can be catastrophic, not just for the recreational user, but for the tugs and pilots working hard to guide these vessels safely through our constrained waterways.
What are exclusion zones and why do we have them?
Exclusion zones are designated areas of the harbour where recreational and non-commercial vessels must not enter during commercial shipping movements. They exist for good reason:
- To give commercial vessels with limited manoeuvrability a clear, safe corridor to operate in
- To give tugs the space they need for controlled movements during berthing and unberthing
- To reduce the risk of collisions and dangerous wake effects on smaller craft
- To keep port operations running safely and efficiently in our tight waterway.
These zones are not bureaucratic red tape. They are the boundary between a safe day on the water and a tragedy.
To read more about your legal obligations, and for a safety checklist visit
News – Pitopito.
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