The largest container ship to visit New Zealand waters, the MV Aotea Maersk, will visit Port of Tauranga tomorrow morning.
The 9500 TEU (20ft equivalent units) vessel is the first call in a new direct service from Asia announced in July by Maersk Line, the world's largest container shipping company, and Kotahi, New Zealand's leading export supply chain collaboration.
The vessel is expected to dock about 11.25am tomorrow.
The port call is an extension of Maersk's Triple Star service from South America to North Asia.
Tauranga will be the only port call for the new service, which is seen by Port of Tauranga's chief executive Mark Cairns as validating its hefty investment in dredging the port in order to handle larger ships.