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Auckland port seeks right to go up, if not out

By Pattrick Smellie
Aug. 7 (BusinessDesk) - Thwarted in its attempt to push its wharves into Auckland harbour, the community-owned Ports of Auckland company is seeking to add another three metres to the height of its Auckland wharf operations and reduce jobs by as many as 50 positions by using automated technology to handle more cargo.

"Auckland freight growth is relentless," POA's chief executive, Tony Gibson, said in a statement. "To handle it we’ve pushed our performance to world class levels but we’re reaching the limit of what we can do with our current technology.

"We need more room. We can’t go out so we need to go up, and for that automation looks the best bet.”

The port earlier this year lost a public relations battle with its plans to extend existing container wharves further into Waitemata Harbour after being granted a non-notified resource consent from its owner, Auckland Council, to proceed. The initiative was overturned by public opposition to the proposed reclamation.

The new proposal would involve the use of 15 metre tall automated straddle carriers, the port said, "three metres higher than existing machines which would carry out the less complex tasks in the container yard."

"The more complex operations under the crane would continue to be performed by manual straddles" with potential to deliver capacity, cost and environmental benefits, but also with fewer people.

"Up to 50 jobs could be lost, although we would work hard to reduce this number," said Gibson. "Staff turnover, growth in the business and some changes to the way we work would help us keep this number as low as possible."

A six-week consultation on the proposal is now under way and a three-month scoping study is being prepared. A final decision, with a further staff consultation round, is not due until early next year.

The port currently operates 12.5 metre high straddle carriers which stack containers up to three high. Automated carriers capable of stacking containers four high are proposed.

"Increasing container stack height by one would result in a 30 percent increase in container terminal capacity without the need for new reclamation," said Gibson.

Auckland is an import hub, serving the country's largest city and surrounding areas, and handling around one million containers and 207,000 imported cars last year.

(BusinessDesk)

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