Deepen channels or lose ships: Port | Bay of Plenty News | Local News in Bay of Plenty

Port of Tauranga's plans to deepen local shipping channels by up to 3.3 metres through removing 15 million cubic metres of sediment from the harbour, are critical to prevent Tauranga becoming a feeder port to Australia, the port believes.

The port says if the changes are not made to accommodate larger vessels, freight rates will rise as economic benefits are lost.

Port property manager Tony Reynish said if work was not carried out in the near future, Tauranga would simply become a feeder port to Australia as it lost its grip on its small but important slice of the global container market.

Mr Reynish was addressing a consent hearing yesterday  which is sitting all this week to hear the port's resource management consent application to dredge existing channels in Tauranga Harbour to allow access to much larger container ships.

- Read more in today's Bay of Plenty Times