The Port of Lyttelton says it needs to carry out urgent repair work to its container operations, and it may be 10 days before normal operations resume.
It aims to have container operations running on a limited basis, in three to four days.
The port says its oil berth operation has held up well, but it is checking pipework, and expects it to be operating again by Friday evening.
A tanker is scheduled to arrive on Saturday to discharge fuel.
The port says New Zealand Navy divers have been helping its engineers to assess port structures and carry out soundings to review the channel depth.
