UPDATED: The Port of Tauranga schedule now states the containership Vega Auriga is due to dock at 7.30am tomorrow and will depart the same day at 1pm.

Tauranga independent MP Brendan Horan wants Transport Minister Gerry Brownlee to take action on the containership Vega Auriga, which is on its way to the city's harbour.

The Vega Auriga is en-route from the Queensland Coast for Tauranga after being denied entry into Australian ports.

German-owned Vega Auriga is on track to Tauranga. Photo: Nigel Price.

The Liberian-flagged but German-owned Vega Auriga and is due to arrive at the Port of Tauranga at 7.30am tomorrow.

The ship is a Mediterranean Shipping Company charter vessel, but not part of the company's scheduled services – and is owned, operated and crewed by a company in Germany, says an Mediterranean Shipping Company spokesman.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority prohibited Vega Auriga from using or entering any Australian ports due to repeated breaches relating to seafarer welfare and maintenance of the ship.

The authority has detained Vega Auriga three times since July 2013, with repeated concerns about crew welfare including improper payment of wages, inadequate living and working conditions and inadequate maintenance resulting in an unseaworthy and substandard vessel.

The ship has been banned for three months and can re-enter only after the authority is satisfied it has met its standards.

The New Zealand safety inspection to be carried out when the ship arrives at Tauranga will focus on ship safety and environmental risks.

New Zealand, unlike Australia, hasn't yet ratified the Maritime and Labour convention that expands ship safety to include crew concerns.

Brendan says vessels that don't meet standards of welfare and treatment of crew like this one mean an increased risk to seafarers and pose a greater risk of accidents.

'Rena was also detained several times in Australia, and we have seen the results of that,” says Brendan.

In spite of the Rena disaster and subsequent oil spill, New Zealand still has no means of dealing with a major maritime accident.

'We also have to consider our very poor rapid oil response if this ship was to run aground,” says Brendan.

'It's still only four eight metre aluminium dinghies as our rapid oil response unit.

'Why is this ship being allowed to come to New Zealand? Are we a soft touch?”

Brendan says it seems like any ship can come to New Zealand, no matter what standard a vessel is in.

'We have very real risks of another incident – and, worst of all, it's coming to the Port of Tauranga.

'I want to know what the minister is going to do about it. The Australians have solid regulations in place to ensure the safety of their coastline and clearly our government only pays lip service.”

Transport Minister Gerry Brownlee's office says the Government is in the process of ratifying the convention, which will put New Zealand and Australian inspections on the same page.

The minimum international standards the Australians enforce include standards for the welfare and treatment of crew, and ships that don't meet the crew standards are deemed to pose an increased risk to seafarers, safe operations and the marine environment.

'Seafarer welfare is just as important as the proper maintenance of ship equipment, and an integral part of safe operations. A failure in either system could lead to serious accidents,” says general manager of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority's ship safety division, Allan Schwartz.