Napier Port releases proposal for new berth

The New Zealand port released a draft proposal for a new berth, which would require dredging and the construction of a new wharf.    Napier Port, located in eastern New Zealand, released a draft proposal last week for public consultation in regards to adding a new berth within its existing boundary, the port said.
   Situated at the northern end of the container terminal, the proposed berth would require dredging and the construction of a new wharf.
   Napier Port plans to seek a resource consent during the last quarter of the year for the new wharf and its phased dredging program. If granted, the consent would allow Napier Port to deepen the shipping channel from a current consent maximum of 12.8 meters to a maximum of 14.5 meters at low sea levels and extend the shipping channel.
   Having the new berth would allow the port to handle increasing volumes and larger ships expected to frequent the port in the future, Napier Port Chief Executive Garth Cowie said.
   “The timetable for any construction or phased dredging will be dictated by the time at which increasing container volumes and potentially larger vessels are likely to begin calling at the port,” Cowie said.
   Currently, the two container shipping services with the largest average vessel capacities calling Napier Port are the NZS/KIXANL (operated by PIL, ANL, NYK, OOCL and APL) and the ANZEX (operated by OOCL, CMA CGM, PIL and CSCL), which have average vessel capacities of 4,433 TEUs and 4,408 TEUs, respectively, according to data gathered from BlueWater Reporting’s Port Dashboard tool. Both loops are dedicated to trade between Asia and Oceania.