More than 20 years after the first plans to develop a marina at Lyttelton were unveiled, the first boats have taken up residence at Lyttelton Port of Christchurch’s new walk-on, floating marina in the inner harbour - Te Ana Marina.
The brand new facility features 192 individual pontoons constructed by Total Marine Solutions (TMS) - marina construction specialists with 30 years of experience in the industry - with help from the Firth Christchurch team who assisted with specialist marine concrete mixes and local expertise.
“We predominantly operate in and around the Waitemata Harbour, Hauraki Gulf and the Bay of Islands but have also undertaken projects in Whangarei, Kerikeri, Omaha, Whangaroa, Whitianga, Napier, Wellington, Hong Kong and even Spain for the America’s Cup in 2007,” explains Jess Cherrington, Project Manager for TMS. “We usually construct the pontoons at our Auckland casting facility and ship them to the marina sites but it would have been far too costly to do that in this case. So we established a casting site very close to the project site for Te Ana Marina at Chapman Road, Hillsborough - a ten minute drive from the new marina.”
With 192 walkway and finger pontoons planned, Jess and the TMS team relied on the local Firth team to assist with their concrete requirements. “We have a long-standing relationship with Firth in Auckland and have worked with them for many years,” adds Jess. "We had no hesitation when we started this project to call on the local Firth team at Bromley to assist. The different conditions in Christchurch, much drier and colder temperatures, means the curing process of the concrete is quite different than what happens in the North Island. The Firth Bromley team were excellent and supported us with advice on the curing - especially as we started work on the first pontoons in May 2017, leading into winter.”
Jess says they were also very reliant on consistent supply from Firth - three times a week, on time, without fail. “They were very reliable which made construction a lot smoother for us,” adds Jess. “Although the project was challenging the collaboration between Lyttelton Port of Christchurch and ourselves, with great support from Firth, means we are extremely happy with the overall result. It’s been very rewarding.”
Te Ana Marina is Canterbury’s only walk-on, floating marina and features 170 berths for yachts, mono hulls, catamarans and powerboats. The new marina facility will eventually include a vibrant waterfront promenade with public access between Lyttelton, the inner harbour and the recreational areas at Naval Point.
With very few venues in Canterbury providing a view of the sea when dining, the marina itself will eventually provide an attractive and energetic backdrop to the much anticipated and sought-after public waterfront area.
Video of construction of Te Ana Marina
Customer: Lyttelton Port of Christchurch (LPC)
Contractor: Total Marine Services
Location: Lyttelton Port
Product: Firth Certified Concrete®
