Auckland strikes stretching capacity at Tauranga Port

20 Feb 2012 - Port Planning

• Tauranga Port feeling the strain of unprecedented business, says CEO

New Zealand’s Tauranga Port has reported that its capacity is being increasingly stretched by the ongoing industrial action at the neighboring Port of Auckland.

Since the labor dispute began last year, Tauranga has seen two new shipping services diverted to its docks, including Maersk’s Southern Star service.

“We are certainly stretched and I think we would need our bums kicked if suddenly we could pick up a 50 percent increase in volume, if we just had that resource sitting round,” Port of Tauranga CEO, Mark Cairns, told SunLive.

“There will be the ability to take one or two extra vessels, but what we are seeing is the vessels that call at both ports will be discharging and loading lots more cargo here.”

“So we are certainly stretched, we will be doing our best, but we just don’t have the capacity for all of the vessels – some vessels will just have to make other arrangements.”

The stretching of capacity at Tauranga Port is made all the more frustrating when considering that the Australasian port is set to embark on a major capital works programme to increase port capacity, added Cairns.

“The capital investment programme will begin another tranche of capacity, but that was coming on at the end of this year and the end of the year following,” he said.

“So we are pretty close, but it’s coming on a little bit too quickly; maybe we could take a handful, one or too extra, but we really are stretched at the moment and we certainly couldn’t handle all the vessels.”

The port is scheduled to receive six new dual container lift straddle carriers later this month, and a second dual lift post Panamax container crane for Sulphur Point later this year, according to SunLive.

Sulphur Point will also be provided with an additional 1.3 hectares of container storage, as part of the programme.

The latest strike at Auckland, the seventh at the port in recent times, will begin at 7am on February 25th in the latest chapter in an on running battle between the ports management and wharfies.