Largest container crane assembled at Port of Tauranga, ready 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. 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 of the 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.

"It is also safer for the crane to be anchored onto the rails on the berth in case of stormy weather."

Despite the restrictions, the Port of Tauranga had maintained crane productivity rates throughout the lockdown.

Last week they achieved a net crane rate of 35.8 moves per hour, compared with the last reported national average of 29.1.