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Terminal extension and shipping lane deepening
Ports of Auckland can now cater for the next generation of container vessels without the need for significant dredging, and has recently lifted throughput capacity by an additional 130,000 TEU at the Fergusson container terminal.
The upgrade and extension of the Fergusson container terminal, and the associated deepening of the commercial shipping lane in the Rangitoto Channel, together form a major platform for future growth for Ports of Auckland.
The work is driven by significant economic growth in the Auckland region and a steady increase in container trade volumes over time. Between 1989 and 2007, Ports of Auckland recorded an average growth rate in container volumes of 7.0%. In 2008, the actual volume increase was 8.8%, to 840,993 TEU (20 foot equivalent unit), and 2009 volumes reached a record high of 843,590 TEU.
Plans for the container terminal extension have been in the pipeline since 1989, when the Port Company, the Auckland Regional Authority and the Auckland City Council agreed on the original 1989 Port Development Plan. Resource consent was granted in July 1998.
New operational area has been constructed on the eastern (left) side of the Fergusson container terminal.
Following the issuing of these consents, two major container line customers announced their intention to introduce larger container ships to New Zealand trades. The shipping lane deepening was required to allow wider tidal windows for the new ships with drafts of up to 12.5 metres. It has also given the Port the ability to cater for the next generation of container ships without the need for any more significant dredging.
Ports of Auckland’s application for resource consents to dredge the commercial shipping lane in the Rangitoto Channel and the approaches to Fergusson was approved by the Minister of Conservation in April 2002, after a comprehensive public consultation process.
Works began in earnest on the projects, a combined investment of $69 million, in 2003, using low-impact methods that were both environmentally and community-friendly.
The deepening of the commercial shipping lane used a barge-mounted dredger. Dredgings from the Rangitoto Channel were then mixed with cement to form mudcrete and recycled as fill for the new reclamation. At peak production, approximately 2,000 cubic metres of dredgings were being mixed and placed as environmentally friendly fill each day.
A new, deeper and wider shipping lane was officially opened in August 2007. At 12.5 metres deep at the lowest of low tides, Auckland’s commercial shipping lane now offers wider tidal windows for larger ships and the potential to cater for vessels with a draft of up to 13.9 metres.
Stage One of the Fergusson extension, the first 5.8 hectares, was completed in late 2007, with only a small portion of the reclamation – known as the ‘Jellicoe’ hole – to be filled with maintenance dredgings from the Port’s berths and approaches.
The new operational land provides capacity for an additional 130,000 TEU per annum and has enabled a range of measures to optimise the use of terminal space, including realigning container stacks and roadways. These efficiencies have in turn facilitated the introduction of dual-direction driving and other operational innovations which are succeeding in lifting productivity levels at the Port.
The combined shipping lane deepening and construction of Stage One of the terminal extension project was a finalist in the Transport Infrastructure category of the 2009 New Zealand Engineering Excellence Awards.
To be able to make full use of this new capacity and accommodate the bigger ships expected to call Auckland in the near future, Ports of Auckland has also recently secured resource consent to deepen one of the existing berths alongside the Fergusson container terminal.
Auckland Regional Council chairman Mike Lee and Auckland City Mayor John Banks join Managing Director Jens Madsen on the new public waterfront walkway.
The second half of the reclamation, which is covered under a previous consent, will be completed by 2016. Using dredgings from ongoing port maintenance work to form the new land, it will bring the extension total to 9.5 hectares.
A highlight for the Auckland community has been the construction of a new public waterfront walkway on the eastern edge of the Fergusson container terminal extension. The walkway, which includes two viewing platforms, was opened in an official ceremony with Auckland City Mayor John Banks, Auckland Regional Council Chairman Mike Lee and Ports of Auckland Managing Director Jens Madsen in March 2008.
Click here for more information on how to safely access the Port and walkway.
