Sixteen passengers and a Fullers crew member were injured when the vessel struck the wharf late this morning, crunching its bow and knocking people out of seats.

A fishing ship trapped in ice last week has made it to the open ocean and will now head to New Zealand under its own steam.

An amateur photographer was walking along the water with his family when he captured a ten-minute sea battle between a seal and its latest catch.

Sixty whales from a stranded pod of almost 200 have been successfully refloated near Nelson.

Jake Macpherson doesn't like the water - but that didn't stop him diving into the ocean to save the life of a stranger swept off rocks at a popular Northland beach.

A United States icebreaker is just 7.4 kilometres away from a fishing vessel trapped by ice in Antarctica with 13 New Zealanders on board.

The captain of the Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia may remain a free man - for now - despite being found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 16 years in prison.

Councillors will be asked to permit the port company to reclaim 2ha of harbour every 10 years into the future, writes Brian Rudman.

Three years after he crashed the Costa Concordia, former captain Francesco Schettino will learn this week if he is to spend most of his remaining years in prison.

A plan to rearrange the uses of Auckland's downtown wharves, including a new cruise ship terminal on Captain Cook wharf, is going to an Auckland Council committee.

"Who would leave a boat on autopilot in a harbour packed with boats fishing?" Police confirm an investigation into a yacht that knocked a man unconscious.

A 17-year-old girl was rescued from the Waikato River early this morning by a police officer who swam to save her before she went under.

Eleven great white sharks have been spotted at a single site in the Kaipara Harbour - the largest concentration of the species yet seen in the upper North Island.

Four commissioners have been appointed to decide whether a resource consent should be granted allowing part of the Rena wreck to remain on Astrolabe Reef.

A mother and her son who were swept out to sea at a Hawkes Bay beach have been discharged from hospital and are back home recovering.

When Ian Waterson saw a mother and her child being swept out to sea he ran outside, jumped onto his 4WD farmbike and drove straight into the ocean.

A veteran yachtsman spent two cold, wet hours perched on the mast of his heritage yacht after it hit rocks and sank in the middle of the night.

A man who attempted to swim across the Waikato River last night is presumed drowned, according to police.

A man was rescued off the Northland coast overnight after a yacht struck rocks and sank.

The king penguins huddle together, protecting their eggs from the cold, as others waddle across the ice into the water.

Eddie Haretuku and Graham Tahiwi are not afraid of heights - which is good, because their port work can take them up to 30m off the ground.

Police have confirmed a body pulled from the water off an Auckland beach on Monday was that of missing swimmer, 24-year-old Johnny Perese Faitaua.

Ports of Auckland is probably one of the few ports to own and operate its own harbour pilot service, writes Phoebe Falconer.