Johnson’s Barge Service is owned and operated by a partnership between Nautilus Pacific Limited, O’Donnell Park Barging Limited & Kenny Barging Limited, all born and bred Marlborough Businesses, who want to provide the best possible service and provide opportunity to our wider community.
Company directors Beau Simonsen and James Galloway, alongside Kim O'Donnell bring a wealth of knowledge & passion for the industry working within the marine industry for a combined 65 years.
Day to day operations are undertaken by the management team consisting of Johnny Everett, Kim Weatherhead, and Jared Rowe. The team continue to operate the business at the southeast corner of the Havelock Marina and continue to provide the great service that Peter and Jennie Johnson and the wider Johnson Family have provided for the last century.
We pride ourselves on being able to assist our customers, making their jobs straight forward and efficient. We strive to work alongside our customers to ensure that items and jobs are completed on time and in a safe manner. Johnson’s Barge Service Limited operates five main vessels, four motorized barges named ‘Pukatea’ ‘Mahoe’ ‘Titoki’ and ‘Manatu’ as well as ‘Hinau’, a dumb barge which is coupled to tug boat ‘Tahwai’. The business operates mainly in the Pelorus and Kenepuru Sounds and D’Urville Island area, but also goes as far as Nelson and Golden Bay as required.
In keeping with the Johnson family traditions we continue to operate ‘Tawhai’, a tow vessel which was originally designed by Eric Johnson and was built in 1966. ‘Tawhai’ can still be seen plying the sounds on most days of the week alongside dumb barge ‘Hinau’. The ‘Hinau’ carts logs from forests in the Pelorus Sounds as well as assisting with the Kenepuru community and other jobs as required.
‘Manatu’ provides support services to salmon farms at Waitata, Waihinau, Forsyth and Kopaua Bays in the Pelorus Sound, as well as helping out around the sounds with small drop offs. ‘Pukatea’ undertakes mooring works and general barge work within the Pelorus and Kenepuru Sounds. She also works closely with the farming community to transport livestock & supplies to keep the farm community moving. Our vessel ‘Mahoe’ harvests all fish from NZ King Salmon farms in both the Pelorus and Queen Charlotte Sounds, being berthed in Picton for most of the year. Our newest addition ‘Titoki’ is active around the place too. She is small but powerful which means that she can fill in for any of the other vessels when workloads are heavy, small enough to maneuver around bays servicing moorings and delivering goods, but capable of towing the ‘Hinau’ loaded with logs or anything else that needs towing.