New Chairman appointed

John Lindsay has been confirmed as new Chairman of the Ports of Auckland Limited Board of Directors.

Mr Lindsay joined the Board in March 1996. He is also Chairman of Holcim (New Zealand) Limited, the New Zealand Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Auckland Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and a director of a number of other companies.

Mr Lindsay has extensive operational experience, having been Chief Executive and a board member of New Zealand and Australia-based manufacturing and service companies with international businesses, and as a member of the executive committees of several national trade associations.

Consent heralds final preparations for larger container ships

Ports of Auckland has gained resource consent for berth deepening and associated wharf works at its Fergusson container terminal.

Managing Director Jens Madsen says the works will cement the port’s ability to cater for the next generation of container ships, carrying 5,000 to 7,000 TEU.

Ports of Auckland has already dredged its shipping channel in preparation for the larger ships and three of the Port's existing container cranes, the largest in the country, are capable of servicing the vessels.

“The three newest cranes have a 50 metre outreach which, taking into account the additional fendering required for larger vessels, gives us the ability to service ships 18 containers wide,” said Mr Madsen.

The consented works will complement the channel deepening by increasing the berth depth at the Fergusson container terminal to 15.5 metres chart datum, which will allow the deeper draft ships to berth. Plans also include a minor extension to the Fergusson wharf and construction of a small part of a planned new northern berth.

Mr Madsen says Ports of Auckland is in the best position of any New Zealand port to cater for the new generation of container ships.

“Our channel dredging is complete, we have the best equipment and, with the securing of this resource consent, we are effectively on stand-by.”

Mr Madsen said detailed design work would begin soon and that physical works would commence as soon as the shipping industry required it.


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Transport Summit - Ports Keynote Address

Managing Director Jens Madsen will speak to the Transport New Zealand Summit  today on 'The role of ports in the development of integrated freight networks'.

Mr Madsen will cover the major trends in international shipping and what they mean for both New Zealand’s port sector and for 'NZ Inc', and will share his views about what New Zealand needs to do in response to these issues to ensure competitiveness and success in the global markets.

A transcript of his speech and the presentation slides will be available from the Ports of Auckland website later this afternoon, simply follow the link below.

Visit the 'Speeches & presentations' page online

Planned industrial action tomorrow

The Maritime Union of New Zealand – Local 13 will continue with their planned industrial action at the Port of Auckland tomorrow, Friday 5 June 2009, for 4.5 hours from 1200hours to 1630hours.

This will affect cargo operations and cargo receival and delivery at the Fergusson and Bledisloe container terminals, and the Rail, Shuttle and Pack facilities . At the time of writing, no vessels are directly impacted.

All other operations will continue as normal, including operations at the General Wharves, the Wiri Inland Port and the Port of Onehunga, and all marine services.

Meetings between Ports of Auckland and the union, to reach settlement of the Collective Employment Agreement, are ongoing. No further strike notices have been received.

Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Customer Services team on +64 9 309 1324 or email.