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Local navigation aids warnings

Weekly local navigation warning summary: 20 January 2026 (PDF, 110KB).

If you have any questions, please contact us by email at harbourmaster@at.govt.nz.

Local notices to mariners currently in force

All mariners are advised that the Tamaki River No.23 starboard hand channel mark off Panmure Yacht Club has been reported as missing. All mariners are advised to navigate with extreme caution while transiting through the area.

Map showing Panmure Wharf, Waiheke Ferry Terminal, Panmure Yacht Club, and mooring areas.

You should not use this map to navigate.

Bruce Goff
Maritime Officer

In addition to shoaling on the western side of the entrance, submerged rocks extend to the west of the green lateral beacon at the entrance to Whangateau Harbour.

At low water, these rocks have been reported as being a navigational hazard up to 15m west of the green lateral beacon.

All mariners are advised to navigate with caution whilst operating in this area, especially whilst navigating to the east of the red line depicted on the 2024 photo. Those without local knowledge should restrict their transits to high water.

Aerial view of a coastal area with a breakwater, rocky shoreline, and an orange line marking a boundary.

You should not use this map to navigate.

Andrew Hayton
Auckland Harbourmaster

All mariners are advised that a Distress Signal Training will be undertaken at Devonport Naval Base between 1300 and 1400hrs on 18 January 2026.

Distress signals to be used as follows:

  • 6 - Handheld red distress flares
  • 3 - Orange smoke distress flares.
Map of Waitematā Harbour showing Devonport area, Stanley Point, and mooring zones.

You should not use this map to navigate.

Jason Son
Maritime Officer
Harbourmaster’s Office

All mariners are advised that there will be marine works at Bayswater Marina for outer breakwater from November 2025 to February 2026.

The works involve:

  • crane and barge operation
  • piling
  • removal and installation of pontoon and diving operations.

All mariners are advised to navigate with caution while operating in this area.

For further details, contact Bayswater Marina. You can:

Map showing Bayswater Marina, O’Neill’s Point, and small craft mooring area.

You should not use this map to navigate.

All mariners are advised that there will be marine works at the north of Bledisloe Wharf, Ports of Auckland from November 2025 to March 2027.

The area will be demarcated with yellow markers. The works involve crane and lifting, piling, dredging, demolition and diving operations.

All mariners are advised to navigate with caution while operating in this area.

Map of Waitematā Harbour showing Stanley Point, Freemans Bay.

You should not use this map for navigation.

All mariners are advised that there are Controlled Area Notice from Ministry of Primary Industries around Great Barrier Island, Little Barrier Island and Waiheke Island.

There are two levels of controls in place. In ‘Red Zone’ areas anchoring is not allowed, and in ‘Yellow Zone’ areas anchoring is allowed but anchoring equipment used in the zone must be checked and cleaned before leaving the area.

For further information, contact MPI and find out about the legal rules for boating and fishing to stop the spread of exotic caulerpa.

Maps showing controlled and high-risk zones around Aotea Great Barrier Island, Little Barrier Island and Waiheke Island.

Jason Son
Maritime Officer
Harbourmaster’s Office

All mariners are advised that there will be marine construction at Halfmoon Bay Ferry Terminal from May to December 2025. The works involve barge, crane, piling and diving operations. All mariners are advised to keep minimum wake towards the site and navigate with caution while operating in this area.

Map showing Bucklands Beach Yacht Club, Half Moon Bay Marina.

*Not to be used for navigation

Jason Son
Maritime Officer
Harbourmaster’s Office

All mariners are advised that there will be marine constructions near Clarks Beach, Waiuku from mid-May 2025 to January 2026. The works involve dredging, piling and diver operations. All mariners are advised to keep minimum wakes and additional caution while operating in the area.

Map showing Ngahere Bay, Rauau Point, and Waiau area.

*Not to be used for navigation

Jason Son
Maritime Officer
Harbourmaster’s Office

All mariners are advised that there will be temporary river closures as a part of O Mahurangi – PENLINK project at Weiti River. Details of schedule and locations are in the map.

All mariners operating in this area, refer to this message from the project team.

Wēiti River channel temporary closures

Dear neighbours,

The work we needed to do during the planned river channel closure is complete. The river channel reopened this morning (Wednesday 9 July).

Short-term closures

To construct Pier 4 (eastern side) pylons, concrete will be pumped across the navigable channel every 7 to 8 working days. These typically take 5 hours to complete. When possible, they will be timed around low tide times. These short-term closures won’t be notified.

Should a vessel need to pass through the navigable channel, it is imperative to call on marine channel VHF 73 to alert the team of your intentions, so staff can move the concrete boom or delay a lift as necessary. It is unsafe for vessels to pass through the navigable channel until it is clear.

Weiti River Bridge with marked upstream and downstream boat routes
Work hours

Our work hours are typically:

  • Monday to Friday, 7am to 6pm
  • Saturday, 8am to 4pm.

However, approval has been granted to extend the bridge work hours to 9pm and to Sundays, should it be needed.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused during the short-term closures. We thank all river users for their patience and understanding during the ongoing construction of the future Weiti River Bridge.

Should you have any questions regarding these works please contact me.

Ngā mihi nui.

Trish Viall  
Stakeholder and Community Engagement Manager  
Mobile: 027 548 7474 Freephone: 0800 736 5465  
Email: trish.viall@fultonhogan.com

Map showing Wēiti River, Stillwater, and Whangaparāoa with channel closed near Penlink construction.

For information on the O Mahurangi project, visit www.nzta.govt.nz/penlink

Jason Son  
Maritime Officer 
Harbourmaster’s Office

All mariners are advised that Drilling Barge operations are planned in the Westhaven and Northcote areas for several weeks. The barge will gradually reposition from South to North as its work progresses in the areas highlighted in green below. Work boat tenders will be servicing the barge. All mariners are advised to navigate with caution and to keep well clear of the barge. Wakes in the vicinity should be kept to a minimum.

Aerial view of coastal area with two large green shaded zones near a bridge and marina.

* Not to be used for navigation.
 
Jason Son  
Maritime Officer 
Harbourmaster’s Office

Shoaling has been observered in the vicinity of the drying bank to the south of Karamuramu Island.

The shoaling appears to be particularly severe to the south and west of the South Cardinal beacon where depths are significantly less than those charted.

All mariners are advised to navigate with extreme caution while operating in this area.

Map showing Pakihi Island and surrounding waters

*Not to be used for navigation

Andrew Hayton
Harbourmaster’s Office

All mariners are advised that there is shoaling on the western side of the channel,
near the Whau River Mouth. The location is identified with yellow, as below.
All mariners are advised to navigate with caution while operating in this area.

Map showing narrow channel with navigation markers and a yellow highlighted area, plus inset map of wider region.

*Not to be used for navigation.

Christiaan Moss
Deputy Harbourmaster
Harbourmaster’s Office

All mariners are advised that there will be marine farm development at Western Firth from 9 November 2023. The development includes the installation of navigation aids, mussel lines, and others. The site is located in YELLOW on the map below. All mariners are advised to navigate with caution while operating in this area.

Map of Firth of Thames showing surrounding coastline.

*Not to be used for navigation

Jason Son
Maritime Officer
Harbourmaster’s Office

All mariners are advised that construction of the O Mahurangi Penlink River Bridge will commence mid-September 2023 with the installation of temporary platforms built on the western and eastern banks of the Weiti River to facilitate the construction of the permanent Weiti River bridge. Work will involve pile drilling, vibing and hammering into the seabed.

A barge will operate between the two staging platforms providing materials to the work sites through to December 2026.

Passage through the Weiti River Bridge Construction Zone will remain open to mariners, however Weiti River closures are expected during the finally stages of the project build. All river closures will be notified prior to the planned works. Mariners are requested to keep wake to a minimum when transiting through the bridge construction zone for the safety of construction staff.

Aerial view of a river with barges operating between western and eastern staging areas.
Map of the Weiti River and Stillwater area showing ramps, a jetty

*Not to be used for navigation.

Bruce Goff
Maritime Officer
Harbourmaster’s Office

All mariners are advised that a sandbank, which is North of the No.15 marker in Tāmaki River, is shoaling due to sand-building. Locations are identified as per below and the depth in the vicinity could be lower than charted depth.

All mariners are to navigate with additional caution while operating in this area.

Map showing a narrow channel with depth contours, a yellow highlighted area, and an inset map of the wider region.

*Not to be used for navigation.

Jason Son
Maritime Officer
Harbourmaster’s Office

The Harbourmaster has received reports of a submerged pile in the approaches to Tramcar Bay boat yard in the waters between Whangateau Harbour and Tramcar Bay.

All mariners are advised to navigate with extreme caution when operating in this area.

Aerial view with a large red‑outlined and cross‑hatched area near Whangateau Harbour

Not to be used for navigation.

Pulasthi Ranasinghe
Maritime Officer

All mariners are advised that the Department of Conservation has closed the Motuihe wharf due to public safety, the wharf will remain closed until further notice.

The Department is working closely with engineers to look at options available to remedy issues and re-open the wharf as soon as practicable.

The Department apologises for any inconvenience and will continue to keep the public informed as they seek solutions.

Updates will be provided on the DOC website and should you require further information, please contact the DOC hotline on 0800 362 468.

Aerial view of coastline with Motuihe wharf circled in red.

Map not to be used for navigation.

Pulasthi Ranasinghe
Maritime Officer

All mariners are advised to navigate with caution in the vicinity of the Hobson Bay and Okahu Bay derelict wave screen. Mariners are reminded that they should only navigate through the recognised entry or exit (as per chart NZ 5322).

Map showing Orakei Marina with nearby small craft moorings, markers.

Map not to be used for navigation.

Christiaan Moss
Deputy Harbourmaster

All Mariners are advised that a large tree has fallen into the upper reaches of the Wairoa River (20 July 2017), potentially impeding navigation.

GPS coordinates are:

  • latitude 36°58’840
  • longitude 175°02’655 

All mariners are advised to navigate with extreme caution in this area.

Map near Clevedon showing a red‑circled location beside a main road close to the upper reaches of the Wairoa River.

The map is not to be used for navigation.

Bruce Goff
Maritime Officer

All mariners are reminded that electronic chart plotters are to be used as an aid to navigation and paper charts should be updated and consulted.

Electronic raster charts used on some plotters may not incorporate the latest chart corrections.

Mariners are reminded to use up to date charts for navigation and advised to contact their plotter supplier if in doubt.

Harbourmaster’s Office

Some images on this page use data from Land Information New Zealand (LINZ). This data is licensed by LINZ for re-use under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.

Marine biosecurity information

Visit the New Zealand marinepests website for more information. Always check marine biosecurity rules and regulations for different regions.

Weather information

For up-to-date weather information, visit the MetService website or the Coastguard NowCasting weather information VHF channels.

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