The new crane will be able to load and unload container ships up to 49 metres or 19 containers wide. Photo / Supplied
The new crane will be able to load and unload container ships up to 49 metres or 19 containers wide. Photo / Supplied
The Port of Tauranga's newest and largest container crane has been moved into position and is gearing up to start work next week.
The new crane will be able to load and unload container ships up to 49 metres or 19 containers wide, compared with the 18 container reach ofthe Port's other large cranes.
Crane operations at the container terminal were restricted during the lockdown due to shift patterns introduced to keep port workers separated and safe.
The Port's ninth ship-to-shore gantry crane arrived in parts from Ireland in mid-February on a special-purpose delivery ship.
It was assembled on-site and moved several hundred metres onto the berth in a 48-hour operation successfully completed this morning.
The new crane will be able to load and unload container ships up to 49 metres or 19 containers wide. Photo / Supplied
Further testing will be undertaken now that the new crane is in position and it is expected to start work next week.
Port of Tauranga chief executive Mark Cairns said the crane was mostly assembled prior to the Covid-19 Level 4 lockdown and commissioning and testing was supported remotely by engineers at the Liebherr factory in Ireland.
"The crane needs to be moved into place now to free up the construction zone for much-needed storage space for containerised cargo," he said.