Ports of Auckland has placed an order for three new container cranes for the new deepwater container berth at the north end of the port’s Fergusson container terminal.

“Container volumes continue to show healthy growth, in line with the economic and population growth of Auckland,” said Wayne Thompson, deputy chief executive of Ports of Auckland. “For that reason we are investing in our people and infrastructure to ensure we can continue to meet the growing needs of Auckland and the Upper North Island. The new cranes are part of our strategy to grow our container throughput while respecting Aucklanders’ desire to protect the Waitematā harbour. It is a sustainable solution.”

The new cranes, which will be built by Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industry Co. and are due to be delivered in late 2018, will be able to carry up to four containers at the same time.

“The investment we are making at our terminal, in new equipment and automation, will allow us to significantly increase our capacity,” said Thompson. “Projects underway or planned will increase capacity from 900,000 TEUs a year currently to around 1.6-1.7 million TEUs, enough to cater for the needs of an Auckland population of over 2.5 million. With further investment we estimate that on our existing land area we can handle up to 3 million TEUs, catering for an Auckland population of 5 million people.”

The cranes will be equipped with a 26kW solar power system and will be the first in New Zealand to be fitted with lashing platforms so that staff will no longer have to work on the ground next to heavy machinery, reducing risk.

“With the arrival of the new cranes at the terminal next year, we will no longer need the old container cranes on Bledisloe wharf and they will be removed in due course,” Thompson said. “With the efficiency gains we have made over the last six years, we no longer need a second container terminal.”