Ports of Auckland realising potential
The "Gottfried Schulte" became the first containership to berth recently at Ports of Auckland’s new Fergusson North Wharf, which is not yet fully operational.
Fergusson North will eventually be the New Zealand-based port operator's premium berth with the deepest water and the largest cranes capable of handling ships of up to 11,000 teu. The new cranes, which were delivered in October 2018, are currently being commissioned.
Over the next few months a number of containerships 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.
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. (kd)