Bow South Berthing

At Ports of Auckland, we are committed to being good neighbours – a company which is respected for contributing positively to the region as well as to the communities within which we operate.

Please note: The 4100 D class vessels have been replaced by quieter 4100 vessels. The below table will therefore only be populated if a 4100 D class vessel visits the Port again.

It has been identified that the large 4100 D class vessels that visit the Port are noisy due to their specific engine configuration.

An initiative we have introduced in order to minimise the impact of ship generator noise on neighbours, is requiring as many of these “4100 D class” container ships as can safely do so, to berth bow south when receiving and delivering containers at the Fergusson Container Terminal.

This particular class of "4100” vessels are capable of carrying a large number of refrigerated – known as “reefer” – containers, important for many perishable goods being imported and exported. On-ship generators power the cooling units but are also responsible for much of the noise generated by these vessels. Berthing these vessels bow-south can help to reduce the level of noise experienced by neighbours in Parnell.

Berthing these vessels bow south depends on a number of safety parameters being met:

  • Flood tide during final approach manoeuvre
  • Wind speed lower than 15 knots
  • Availability of two 50 tonne tugs
  • Fully operational bow thrusters on ship
  • No customer operational requirement for berthing starboard side alongside

If any of these parameters are not met, berthing bow south would endanger the ship, its crew, port staff working on the terminal and port infrastructure.

The following chart shows our 4100D ship schedule, noting the planned berthing direction in the weeks prior to the vessels arrival and the actual berthing directions achieved. We also note the reason for any changes to the planned berth direction so our neighbours can understand when and why a vessel was not able to be berthed according to plan.

The bow direction may change several times when in the planning stage in accordance with changes in the estimated time of arrival of the ship.


Vessel Arrival time Bow direction Reason for bow direction change