The New Zealand port is scheduled to receive its first 9,500-TEU vessel in October, following the completion of its dredging project, which deepened the port’s shipping channels to 14.5 meters inside the harbor entrance and 15.8 meters outside the harbor.
The Port of Tauranga in New Zealand has officially completed its dredging project ahead of time and under budget, the port said.
The port’s shipping channels are now widened and deepened to 14.5 meters inside the harbor entrance and 15.8 meters outside the harbor.
Consequently, the port is scheduled to receive its first 9,500-TEU containership in October.
“And it is not just larger containerships that are calling at Tauranga,” Port of Tauranga CEO Mark Cairns said. “The 200-meter long 35,00 tonne SBI Maia, chartered by TPT Forests, the world’s largest log carrier, has also started calling and we will host Royal Caribbean International’s mega cruise ship Ovation of the Seas this summer. “Port of Tauranga is the first New Zealand port able to berth ships this size,” Cairns said.
“The efficiencies they will bring and the potential costs savings for New Zealand importers and exporters are significant, Cairns added.
“It is clear that port capacity in Auckland is becoming constrained,” Port of Tauranga Chairman David Pilkington said. “Thanks to our investment program, our extensive Tauranga land holdings and our rail-linked MetroPort facility in Onehunga, we can significantly expand the volume of imports that can be delivered into Auckland.”
In addition, two new cranes are currently being erected at the port, which arrived this week, a spokesperson from the port said.
For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2016, the Port of Tauranga posted a net profit after tax of $77.3 million, a 2.4 percent year-over-year decline, following an increase in depreciation charges and a downturn in log volumes.
Reported revenues fell 8.6 percent year-over-year to $245.5 million.
However, container volumes ticked up 12.1 percent year-over-year to more than 954,000 TEUs.
In addition to several intra-Oceania loops, the Port of Tauranga is frequented by a dozen fully cellular container loops that serve regions outside of Oceania, according to BlueWater Reporting’s Port Dashboard tool.
Looking ahead, the port expects to handle over 1 million TEUs for the year ending June 2017, Cairns said.
“We expect to see log exports increase to 2015 levels with other export cargos, such as kiwifruit, expected to continue their strong growth trajectory,” he added.
“Port of Tauranga will remain somewhat protected from severe fluctuations in trade through its diverse cargos, income sources and locations, as well as its long term freight agreements with major exporters,” Cairns said. “We are looking ahead to the remainder of the year with confidence and expect earnings growth to recommence.”
Port of Tauranga completes major dredging project
