Boats moored at Pier 1, from where the small boat Aurora was removed last Friday. Photo / Doug Laing
Friends of the man say he had bought the boat for $500 about a year ago as an abandoned vessel, from the previous owner, who “possibly” had never registered ownership of the boat.
While used as a permanent home moored at the pier, it was seaworthy, said mooring neighbour and career commercial fisherman Karl Warr.
With the man who did not want to be named present, he told Hawke’s Bay Today the young man had had a troubled life, and the mooring was his “safe place – a sanctuary away from negative influences”.
“He’s better off here while he sorts himself out, but they’ve taken away his home,” Warr said.
“He is safe here. As far as I’m aware, no one from the berths here has had any problem.”
He said the council had denied the man a licence to occupy the boat, because it would not recognise him as the owner, and thus would not accept berthage fees the man wanted to pay.
The council says its process draws on multiple sources to establish ownership.
“For recreational vessels, owners are required to provide valid legal proof of ownership,” the spokesperson said.
“Acceptable proof can include insurance documents, slipway or drydock invoices, or sales documentation [where purchased through a commercial entity].
“Under the Inner Harbour Rules and Regulations, Council must be notified of any change of ownership, sale, or change in circumstances relating to a vessel. A new Licence to Occupy is not automatically granted in these situations.”
At Meeanee Quay Piers 1 and 2, there are a total of 41 berths (18 at Pier 1), plus three pole moorings.
Across the water at Jull Wharf in the Iron Pot, where a new pontoon and poles have been installed after closure of the wharf and the moorings at Nelson Quay, there are 20 berths.
Meanwhile, the council is finalising contractor negotiations for “deconstruction” of the Wave Wall at the Nelson Quay entrance to the Iron Pot.
The spokesperson said the council is not yet in a position to confirm specific details such as timing, methodology, or the contractors involved.
The Wave Wall, soon to be “deconstructed”, and the new Iron Pot moorings, at Ahuriri, as seen from the other side of the inner harbour at Meeanee Quay, Westshore. Photo / Doug Laing
“The council is bundling the deconstruction of the Wave Wall and the Discharge Wharf, as both structures are at the end of their operational life,” they said.
The Discharge Wharf has been closed to the public for nearly two years, and an exclusion zone remains in place around the Wave Wall for public safety.
They said removal of the structures is part of the wider Inner Harbour Make Safe programme, and will also enable the council to look at relocating vessels from other areas of the harbour once deconstruction is complete.
Doug Laing is a Hawke’s Bay Today reporter, based in Napier, with more than 50 years’ experience in the news industry. Since joining eventual newspapers merger partner the Daily Telegraph in 1987 he has covered news events and issues throughout Hawke’s Bay.