Three container vessels have berthed at Ports of Auckland’s Fergusson Container Terminal for the first time.
The Gottfried Schulte became the first container ship to berth at the new Fergusson North Wharf, which is not yet operational, while two other vessels were serviced at the main wharf.
Fergusson North will eventually be Ports of Auckland’s premium berth, with the deepest water and largest cranes, capable of handling ships of up to 11,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit).
The new cranes, which were delivered in October 2018, are currently being commissioned.
During the next few months a number of container ships will call at the berth as part of the testing and commissioning of the cranes’ systems.
This will be followed by trial unloading operations and Fergusson North Wharf will be fully operational after the first stage of Ports of Auckland’s automation goes live in early 2020.
Ports of Auckland commercial relationships general manager Craig Sain says the project, part of the 30-year master plan, is “designed to keep up with Auckland’s rapidly growing freight needs”.
“Our two existing container berths are often both full and there is strong demand for a third berth.
“The new berth, our high-productivity cranes and container terminal automation will significantly increase our capacity and be a great benefit to importers, exporters and shippers,” Sain says.
Completion of Fergusson North Wharf is one of the final stages of Auckland’s container terminal expansion project, which was granted resource consent in 1998.
The project includes 10 hectares of reclamation to create additional terminal space and is expected to be fully complete by the end of 2020.
Ports of Auckland has made a commitment that there will be no more reclamation in the Waitematā Harbour.
