Boaties are to be permitted to exercise their own judgement and are free to put to sea following the re-opening of Tauranga boat ramps yesterday.

Tauranga City Council staff closed the four and six lane ramps on Sulphur Point on Friday afternoon due to the amount of oil that had been brought ashore.

This map shows the exclusion zone, marked by the bold red border.

Later in the afternoon Maritime NZ requested that all the city boat ramps including the Mount Maunganui ramps and the ramp at Ferguson Park also be closed, says Tauranga City Council communications advisor Marcel Currin.

The ramps were re-opened on Monday afternoon and boat owners are advised to proceed with caution and at their own risk.

The extensive marine exclusion zone which encompasses a large area east of Rabbit Island including the middle ground, Motiti Island the Astrolabe Reef, Schooner Rocks Plate Island, and south east towards Matata, remains in force.

Because of the exclusion zone and the widely publicised oil hazard, boaties who suffer engine damage because of oil being sucked into engine cooling systems, are unlikely to be insured.