Vehicle imports continue to flow on Ports of Auckland at alert level 4 with operations now solely focused on moving essential freight.
Just like the same alert level last year, ships are still coming in with vehicles and the main priority is to get them cleared off the wharves as quickly as possible, Ports of Auckland spokesman Matt Ball says.
Vehicle transporters will be taking them straight to storage yards and getting them off the port.
Stevedoring contractors Wallace Investments and C3 will be operating with controls in place such as social distancing and health screening.
“We’ve done this before, it’s the second level 4 and all of the things that we need are already in place such as the physical infrastructure for lockdown rules which have been reactivated and controls strengthened,” Ball says.
“It’s much easier than the first time round when everyone was trying to learn,” he says.
A lack of traffic congestion at alert level 4 means trucks can move through more quickly however there is a longer process for port workers going through shift changes during lockdown with only essential staff on site.
Chris Carr, director of vehicle transport company Carr & Haslam, says there is no vehicle compliance at the moment but his trucks are still making contactless deliveries.
The company has stood some vulnerable staff down, such as some older drivers, and has rolled out a lot of PPE equipment for operations.
“The communication from everyone has been pretty good, so I assume we are a bit better at it this time round, but this COVID variant is a little more worrying,” Carr says.
