FAQs


Northland Regional Council (NRC) and Auckland Transport (AT) require swing moorings to be inspected and maintained to ensure they are kept in a safe condition.  Both the NRC and AT have regulations regarding the maintenance and inspection of swing moorings, which are to be inspected and certified every three years in order to remain compliant with the regional by-laws.

Depending on your insurer, your required service cycle may be less than three years.  Please check with your insurance policy requirements.

It is best to book at least 3-6 months in advance of your mooring’s expiry.  This is in line with the Regional Authority service reminders that are sent out to each mooring owner.  Please note that this does not mean that your mooring will be serviced early, it just confirms that you have engaged a contractor to undertake the service. 

Due to the logistics of mooring barges servicing harbours from Hohoura to Auckland, scheduling in advance helps to ensure that your mooring is inspected as close as is possible to the expiration date.  Once you have made a booking, we will notify the NRC or AT that you are scheduled for an inspection with us, so it will prevent you from getting additional reminders and notices.

  • Condition of the weight, including attachment points and join chains
  • Condition of weight attachment shackles
  • Chain diameters against the maximum allowable wear tolerances specified by the regional authority
  • Swivels and interconnecting linkages for wear and tear
  • Top chain (e.g., diameter and wear at the bow roller) or the top rope (e.g., diameter is in accordance with the regional authority’s design guidelines for the size of vessel moored).  For Top Ropes we also check for chafe, damage, or internal fibre deterioration at the bow roller location).
  • Remove marine growth from the head-rope, buoy-rope and buoy
  • Buoy condition and attachment-eyes for wear.

Northland Regional Council requires concrete blocks with eye diameters of 25mm or less to be removed ashore and disposed of at an approved landfill site.  The weights can then be replaced with Steel or Concrete depending on the client’s preference.

Auckland Transport does not allow concrete to be installed for new moorings. While there are very few concrete blocks still in Auckland, once their eyes have worn out, they are typically replaced with Steel Weights which do not wear out.

Our inspection fee includes:

  • transit of the barge to your mooring site
  • lifting of the mooring aboard the barge
  • inspection and measurement of all mooring equipment
  • redeployment of the mooring post inspection/maintenance
  • an inspection report
  • any and all necessary liaison between client and the NRC or AT 

Our hourly rate of combined barge/labour time includes all consumables; diesel, welding rods, steel cutting/grinding, personal protective equipment, etc.  Following the initial mooring inspection, if maintenance is required, the clock starts only once we start removing the deficient/worn equipment and stops once the reassembly is complete, before redeployment of the mooring.  You are only charged the time spent maintaining your mooring.

You can expect your invoice to include:

  • An inspection fee
  • Barge Labour Time Charges
  • Mooring Component Charges
  • Salvage fee (only if mooring is down on arrival and successfully retrieved).

It will not include top up charges for:

  • Biosecurity Levies
  • Consumables
  • Diesel
  • Barge Maintenance

The above are all covered by the hourly rate.

If you have any questions, please feel free contact us.