NEW CRANES A WORLD FIRST

YOU MIGHT HAVE SEEN the arrival of the new Ports of Auckland cranes on the DEMM Facebook page and other media. It was quite impressive. In case you missed it, here are the key facts.

• Height: 82.3 metres (current cranes are 69.2m). For comparison, the HSBC building in downtown Auckland is 81m and the Auckland Harbour Bridge is 64m.

• Weight: 2,100 tonnes (current cranes are 1,200 and 1,300 tonnes).

• Able to lift four containers at once, weighing up to 130 tonnes, a New Zealand first (current cranes can lift two, up to 65 tonnes).

• Able to be remotely operated – a New Zealand first.

• World first: Can lift containers stacked at up to 1.2 metres height difference.

• Lash platforms, a New Zealand first and an industryleading safety innovation.

• Can service ships of over 11,000 TEU, futureproofing Auckland’s port against future ship size increases.

• Outreach: 21 containers across (current cranes 16 and 19 across).

• Boom length (waterside to tip): 70m (current cranes 50.7m and 56.9m).

• Built in Shanghai and took four weeks to sail from Shanghai to Auckland.

• Enough solar panels to power the average Kiwi home and 100 percent LED lighting.

• Project cost: NZD60 million (three cranes, plus supporting equipment).

There will be a five to six month commissioning process before the cranes start operating on the new deep-water container berth at the north end of Fergusson container terminal.

Deputy Chief Executive Wayne Thompson said that container volumes continue to show healthy growth, in line with the economic and population growth 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 will be able to carry up to four containers at once, so we will be able to load and unload ships faster. The new berth they will be installed on is our deepest, so this will become our premium berth able to handle the biggest ships with higher productivity.

“The investment we are making at our terminal, in new equipment and automation, will allow us to significantly increase our capacity. 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 three million TEUs, catering for an Auckland population of five million people.

“Safety has been an important consideration in the design of these new cranes. In a New Zealand first, they will come fitted with ‘lashing platforms’ so that our people no longer have to work on the ground next to heavy machinery, reducing risk. Lashing platforms will also be retrofitted to our existing cranes. We will also improve driver ergonomics by using a better seat design.

“The cranes come fitted with a number of features to reduce energy consumption, as well as a 26kW solar power system to offset mains power consumption.

“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. With the efficiency gains we have made over the last six years, we no longer need a second container terminal.”