Queens Wharf Public Access Day

Aucklanders will have an opportunity to walk on Auckland’s historic Queens Wharf Sunday 13 September, with the red gates opening at 1 pm for a public access day.

In June Ports of Auckland sold Queens Wharf to the Auckland Regional Council and the Government, enabling the redevelopment of the iconic wharf into public space and an international cruise terminal.

The public access day will include a display by Ports of Auckland’s twin dancing tugboats, and an opportunity to see the hundreds of entries in the “Opening the Red Gates” design competition for the wharf’s redevelopment.

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Blessing at dawn by our close neighbours Ngati Whatua o Orakei

In a dawn ceremony on August 26, Seafuels' new fuel tanker was blessed by Ngati Whatua o Orakei.

Seafuels Chairman, Jens Madsen and POAL General Manager Ports Services, Wayne Mills were joined by Takutaai 'Doc' Wikiriwhai of Ngati Whatua o Orakei, Captain John Skrine, and representatives Peter Dunlop and Ian Coombridge from Pacific Basin, to bless the new bunker barge.

The tanker will be officially named in a ceremony on Tuesday 8 September, and will provide a new re-fuelling service for cruise ships and commercial vessels calling here.

Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum

On August 21 Jens Madsen attended the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF) in Sydney.

Jens made a speech to the forum where he set out a vision, from a trade and freight perspective, for a common border between Australia and New Zealand. He said his vision for a common border was about money and time.

Read Jens Madsen's speech

Vintage Steam Tug Brings History to Life

Ports of Auckland is offering Aucklanders free boat tours aboard the historic steam tugboat, the William C Daldy, as part of this year’s Auckland City Heritage Festival.

The hour-long, family-friendly tours will cruise through the commercial wharves, providing a close-up view of port operations.

The boat tours will be held at 11.00am, 1.00pm and 3.00pm on three Saturdays during the Auckland Heritage Festival, between 19 September to 4 October.

Bookings are essential. To book, phone 0800 AK PORT (0800 25 7678) or see www.poal.co.nz for more information.

For land-lubbers, Ports of Auckland is also running Red Fence Heritage Walks throughout the Festival. Walks will be guided from the meeting point outside the NZ National Maritime Museum on Sunday 20, Thursday 24, Sunday 27 September, and Sunday 4 October, at 3pm. Bookings are not required.

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Consulting with customers

POAL has established a Business User Reference Group. This group comprises of shipping line representatives and port personnel. The group meets regularly to discuss Business Rules, terminal systems, SMS – the ship management system – and related issues.

"Using the Reference Group we are able to make decisions after taking different views and perspectives into account," says Richard Potton, Manager Sales, Marketing & Product Development.

"The Business User Reference Group owes its origins to the Vehicle Booking System (VBS). This approach was used when we were planning the introduction of the VBS. We worked with the Road Transport Association and trucking companies collectively before pushing the final ‘product’ out into the market”, he says.

“It’s an excellent forum for us to initiate a consultative approach with our major customers.”

Stop work meeting

Ports of Auckland have received a notice from the Maritime Union of New Zealand of their intention to hold their Annual General Meeting stop work meeting on Monday 14 September 2009 from 0700 to 0900 hours.

There will be reduced capacity during this time. Please watch for an update from our road office soon.

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