The first vessel to use the new $30 million wharf extension at Sulphur Point arrived on Tuesday 22 January and is currently discharging the Port of Tauranga s new Liebherr ship to shore container crane.
The 170 metre wharf extension, due for completion at the end of March, is a major part of the $180 million capital developments currently underway at the Tauranga Container Terminal and will increase the length of continuous quay at Sulphur Point to 770 metres. This will enable the Container Terminal to handle three large vessels simultaneously.
Vessel lengths and capacity have been increasing steadily over the last twenty years. In 1992, the average vessel to call at the Tauranga Container Terminal was 180 metres; now the average is 230 metres with the longest regular caller currently 269 metres. Vessel capacity has also increased. From April this year, 11 vessels of over 4,000 TEU are scheduled to call regularly.
The new Super Post Panamax container crane will be the sixth crane for the Terminal. It will be erected over the next 8 – 10 weeks and is expected to be commissioned early April. A further six new straddle carriers have also arrived which will increase our total fleet to 36.
These new developments place the Port of Tauranga in an excellent position to handle future growth.
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Press Release, January 24, 2013