The first scheduled cruise ship to call at Whangārei in 2025 berthed at Northport on Saturday (18 January). The Azamara Pursuit, with 658 passengers aboard, was the first of four cruise calls scheduled for the region this summer.

About 540 passengers disembarked to visit the Town Basin, Marsden Cove Marina or experience some of the attractions and activities the region has to offer. Whangarei District Council’s cruise ambassadors and its i-Site team were present at the Town Basin to guide and support the visitors.

This was the first Azamara cruise ship to visit the city, and the first organised in conjunction with the destination management company IDNZ.

Northport has worked with Northland’s regional tourism organisation Northland Inc, the Northland Chamber of Commerce, Whangarei District Council, cruise lines, the New Zealand Cruise Association and other stakeholders since 2018 to bring cruise ships to the city.

Whangārei mayor Vince Cocurullo said there was a strong focus on how the city could make the most of the economic opportunities presented by cruise ship visits in a safe and sustainable way.

“Welcoming cruise ships to the district provides an opportunity for Whangārei to share its history and culture with international and domestic visitors through visitor experiences, great products and services, and local food and beverage,” Mayor Cocurullo said.

He said the economic benefits would be limited to start with and would grow as the destination’s popularity grew and the number of ships calling increased.

“Cruise contributes to keeping visitor attractions in operation, with economic benefits having positive flow-on effects to the wider community,” the mayor said.

Northport chief executive Jon Moore said being able to start small, and build to manageable levels in years to come, was a great option for Whangārei.

“There are several different organisations working together to make this happen for the benefit of our district. From Northport’s perspective, the first few seasons are about finding our feet and getting great systems and processes in place.”

The organisations promoting Whangārei as a cruise destination say that it complements Northland’s other cruise destination, the Bay of Islands, rather than competing with it.

“It gives cruise lines even more Northland product options to consider when they are building their itineraries – there are products and destinations available here that can’t be replicated elsewhere,” Mr Moore said.

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About Northport

Northport, situated at Marsden Point at the mouth of Whangarei Harbour, is New Zealand’s northernmost deep-water port. It is a flexible facility catering for large, multi-purpose vessels and full cargo handling facilities are available from its 570 metre linear berth.

Logs, woodchip and processed timber for export comprise the bulk of cargo handled by the port. Since the introduction of container handling equipment the port has enabled both coastal and international container trade. Other export items include kiwifruit, dairy products and manufactured goods. Imports are an important part of Northport’s business and include fertiliser, gypsum, coal and palm kernel.

The port is owned and operated by Northport Ltd, itself owned jointly and equally by Marsden Maritime Holdings Ltd and the Port of Tauranga Ltd.