Ports of Auckland has applied to Auckland Council for consent to deepen the city’s shipping channel.
A resource consent hearing on the matter is being held this week for the port to dredge the channel to 14 metres.
The largest container ships calling in Auckland now carry up to 5000 twenty-foot containers (TEU). Shipping lines want to bring 6-7000 TEU ships here in the next two to three years.
Work is also preparing for the future arrival of ‘New Panamax’ ships that can carry around 12,000 TEU.
New Panamax ships are 366 metres long with a maximum draft of 15.2 metres. They would visit the port using tidal windows, entering and leaving when the tide is high enough.
“To create a tidal window suitable for New Panamax ships to access port safely we will need a channel which is 14 metres deep on the straights and 14.2 metres deep on the bends. Our berth will be dredged to 15.5 metres so ships can stay through a full tide cycle,” the port says.
“By using tidal windows, we can minimise dredging and reduce cost. It is the most efficient way to accommodate larger container ships.
“The dredging will be done by the lowest impact method available – a digger on a barge. The digger will have a long arm to reach down to the seabed to scoop out material.
“The channel bed is mostly soft material like marine muds, mudstones and some sandstone and gritstone, which can be removed easily. No blasting is required,” it says.
The consent application was open to public consultation and over 200 submissions were received.
If consent is granted, work on deepening the channel could start by 2021.
