An urgent safety assessment of Lyttelton Port's fuel tanks will start tomorrow after fuel companies identified the proximity to homes as a risk in the event of a major disaster.
Z Energy, alongside BP and Mobil discovered the risk as part of a submission on the Canterbury Regional Council's draft Lyttelton Port Recovery Plan, Radio New Zealand reported.
An independent panel reviewing the port's recovery plan has recommended the Christchurch City Council to undertake a full risk assessment of the harbour's oil storage facility.
The submission from the oil industry outlines a potential 250-metre exclusion zone and has cast doubt over plans to build a cruise ship terminal at nearby Naval Point.
It is also unclear how long the assessment will take, leaving those living nearby waiting anxiously.
Terminal operations manager at Z Energy, Danusia Wypych told RNZ the company's own assessments did not look at the potential threat to nearby homes, in the event of a fire or explosion.
"We have operational risk assessments, but not one that looks at the interactive nature of the uses around the land."
She said a quantitative risk assessment would be much broader and assess which products were stored in different areas of the port.
Ms Wypych said she had a range of concerns about the development of a cruise ship terminal in the absence of a full risk assessment.
The potential threat has also raised questions about whether the overall risk to residents has ever been assessed.
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