Cruise ships in Napier – how much water do they really take?

Ovation of the Seas is one of the largest ships to dock at Napier Port. Photo / Paul Taylor

It’s cruise ship season and Napier Port is expecting 14 liners this month and 25 in January, a combined total of 48,642 passengers.

But with level 3 water restrictions in place in Napier, what impact will it have on the city?

A spokesman for the port says it’s actually very little, if any.

“Generally, fewer than 10% of cruise ships take on fresh water while visiting Napier Port, as most vessels have self-contained reservoirs or onboard desalination systems,” the spokesman said.

“During last year’s record season, which saw 89 cruise ships call at Napier, only 13 vessels purchased water.”

A combined total of 2719 cubic metres was consumed by those 13 ships, an average of 209 cubic metres per ship. The total amount for the season can be easily put into context – it’s essentially a little bit more than the size of one Olympic swimming pool – which holds 2500 cubic metres.

And it’s a drop in the ocean compared to Napier’s total water consumption use for the year from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, which was 10,107,940 cubic metres. Napier’s reservoirs hold about 36,000 cubic metres of water.

“Cruise ships pay a fee to Napier Port for any water they consume, and the port in turn pays Napier City Council for the water provided, ensuring the process is managed effectively with minimal impact on local resources,” they said.

The port’s chief operating officer Adam Harvey said the cruise season was good for the region.

“It supports all trades and the economy,” he said.

The port has six operating berths which are used according to the size of the vessel.

It can berth ships from 130m to 360m.

Harvey said they had a good crew on the ground to ensure everything ran smoothly and that while the port employed a small dedicated team for summer most of it was done by ground handling companies organised by the cruise ships.

He said the biggest problem they had was passengers disembarking without ID.

“Our border security works the same as international airports so people must have photo ID to get back on board. If they don’t we have to escort them back to their ship.

“And just like customs rules, passengers aren’t allowed to take fruit from ships into town.”

Napier Port’s operation supervisor/planning David Pons loves it when the Napier Port is full of ships.

“For five months of the year I get to be involved with the cruise ship season,” Pons said.

It’s a busy time at Napier Port with the cruise season in full swing.

“It’s awesome to be connected with so many different people. There’s always a carnival atmosphere at the port when the cruise ships are berthed.”

“Bertie [Napier’s Art Deco icon] greets passengers as they come off the gangway and then the Hawke’s Bay vintage car club and a jazz band create an Art Deco atmosphere when passengers return. It’s a great way to farewell them.”

Napier Port earlier this month reported a strong earning growth for 2024 with revenue up 15.9% to $141.4 million because of volume growth across all categories and yield improvements.

Chair Blair O’Keeffe said It was pleasing to deliver a strong financial result which showed Napier Port’s capability to deliver with improved operating conditions.

This month (December) 14 cruise ships are expected at Napier Port with a total of 23,567 passengers. In January 25 cruise ships are expected to bring 25,075 passengers to our shores.

In comparison, 54,766 passengers landed at Hawke’s Bay airport in December 2023 and 50,623 in January this year. However, it’s impossible to say how many of those were tourists.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.