Wharf staff at the Port of Tauranga are arriving at work this morning to discover one of their log loaders significantly damaged by fire.

Mount Maunganui fire fighters were called to the loader when it was on fire at about 1am.

A log loader like this one is what caught fire at the Port of Tauranga last night.

Night staff at the port reported the fire to emergency services.

No-one was operating the machine at the time, but it had been used earlier in the night.

Mount Maunganui fire station officer Peter Clark says the loader fire was well involved by the time they arrived.

'We're assuming it was an electrical fault; the damage was quite extensive,” says Peter.

'It could still be repairable, but it will have to be a complete refit.”

The fire was concentrated in the loader's cab.

'It was leaking a bit of diesel too so that had ignited by the time we got there.”

Fire fighters spent over an hour at the scene ensuring the fire was properly extinguished.

No other property at the port was damaged.