Port of Tauranga

Port of Tauranga welcomes new crane

Posted on 18th May 2009

Port of Tauranga's fifth ship-to-shore Liebherr gantry crane arrived from Ireland on 19 May.

The vessel Beluga Fraternity has been especially chartered to deliver the crane to Tauranga. The crane will then be assembled on-site at the Tauranga Container Terminal, behind the berth face, and will be skidded into position for final commissioning. The crane is scheduled to be in operation by July 2009.

The new crane has been specifically designed to handle the larger 5,000-7,000 TEU container ships, with an out-reach of 48 metres. This makes it capable of handling container ships 18 containers wide (the largest container ships currently plying New Zealand waters are 13 containers wide). The crane will provide a lifting capacity of 60 tonnes under a telescopic twin-lift spreader and up to 80 tonnes under the hook beam.

The decision to purchase a fifth Liebherr crane is the result of steady long-term growth of the Port's container business. The Port favours the Liebherr brand for proven reliability, energy efficiencies, and low operating costs over the life of the crane.

Mark Cairns, Port of Tauranga Chief Executive, says that the new crane is an integral part of the Port's strategic planning, in preparation for accommodating container vessels up to 7,000 TEUs. "In addition, we have completed the assessment of environmental effects for our harbour dredging project, to be able to widen and deepen our harbour channels and sitting basins to 14.5 metres draught at low water, and are about to embark on further consultation prior to lodging the consents."

Port of Tauranga is continuing to invest for the future and has bolstered its strategic land holdings by acquiring 13.7 hectares of land over the past 15 months. This now brings the Port's total land holdings to 185 hectares.

For further information please contact:
Mark Cairns
Chief Executive
Port of Tauranga Limited
Ph: 07 572 8829