Bigger Milford Sound tour boat goes to hearing on Tuesday as objectors point to Fiordland fleet freeze

An independent commissioner will hear applications on Tuesday for two larger commercial vessels in Fiordland, including a replacement Milford Sound tour boat that would carry more than twice as many people as the one it replaces.

Environment Southland staff recommend granting both coastal permits, with conditions. The Fiordland Marine Guardians and CRA8, the rock lobster industry association, oppose the Milford Sound application. They argue it cuts across Plan Change 5, a change to the Regional Coastal Plan that holds commercial boat activity in Fiordland at July 2022 levels until the area's carrying capacity has been assessed. That assessment has not been completed.

The staff reports are not binding. The commissioner decides after hearing evidence in Invercargill.

Mitre Peak III

Mitre Peak Cruises Limited, heard at 9am, wants to replace its MV Mitre Peak I, which the staff report says is nearly 26 years old, with a new vessel, MV Mitre Peak III.

According to the report, Mitre Peak I is 18.3m long with a 5.76m beam and carries 64 people including crew. Mitre Peak III is 24m long with a 7.2m beam and would carry 154. The number of trips would not change: seven daily between October and April, and three daily from May to September. The permit for Mitre Peak I, which expires on 30 October 2029, would be surrendered.

Because the activity existed in July 2022 but would grow in scale, the report classes it as non-complying under the coastal plan. That means it can be granted only if its adverse effects are minor or it is not contrary to the plan's objectives and policies.

The report, compiled by senior consents officer Alexandra Smith, concludes the adverse effects would not be more than minor. It says technical experts predict underwater noise would differ by no more than 2 dB, and that the new boat is shorter than the average consented length for similar vessels. It recommends a 10-year term, which is what the company sought.

A miscalculation acknowledged

The report concedes the earlier notification report, which decided who should be told about the application, got the size increase wrong. CRA8's submission quotes it as saying the new boat is 23.75% longer and 20% wider. The applicant's own assessment of effects puts it at about 31% longer and 25% wider. The Guardians calculate the passenger capacity increase as 90 people, or 141%.

"I made an error in my notification recommendation by using the figures in section 5.2 of the application rather than checking the calculation," the officer writes. She says the vessel dimensions were correct throughout, that she does not consider the wrong percentages affected the notification decision, and that written approvals already given remain valid.

Objections

The Guardians say Plan Change 5 "put a hold on expansion of the commercial tourist vessel fleet above that which lawfully existed in July 2022", including vessel sizes. They "do not see any justification for granting this consent in contradiction to Plan Change 5", and want Environment Southland to push ahead with the carrying-capacity assessment.

CRA8 asks for the application to be declined, or deferred "until the Regional Coastal Plan Review has been completed and carrying capacity limits for commercial surface water activities in Milford Sound/Piopiotahi have been established".

Te Ao Mārama Inc, for Ōraka Aparima Rūnaka, lodged a neutral submission. It points to a position statement from Ngā Papatipu Rūnaka ki Murihiku that favours a precautionary approach and, if consent is granted, a five-year term.

The staff report itself says: "Although Environment Southland is reviewing capacity of the Fiordland marine area as part of its review of the RCP, no new information or data is available at present."

Second vessel

At 1.30pm the commissioner hears application APP-20211024 for MV Wakakura, a 27m former New Zealand Navy vessel launched in 1985 and converted for expedition charters. It would carry up to 17 people including crew for up to 300 days a year, with two tenders, eight kayaks and four paddleboards.

Lodged in 2021, before Plan Change 5, it is being processed as a discretionary activity. In June 2026 the applicants amended it, offering to surrender an existing permit for the 17m MV Takaroa so the fleet would not grow. The staff report, by senior consents officer Ryan Hodgson, says the remaining differences are the larger boat and one extra tender, and recommends consent until 6 August 2036, when the surrendered permit would have expired.

The Guardians and Te Ao Mārama Inc opposed the original 2021 application and asked for it to be declined. The report says the amendment may change their views. The Department of Conservation and CRA8 gave written approval in 2021.

The Herald has asked Environment Southland for comment.