Port of Tauranga Ready for Larger Ships

Port of Tauranga New Zealands Port of Tauranga expects to handle over one million TEUs in the year ended June 2017, following an upgrade which will allow larger ships to call at this port. The expansion will result in new services, with first bigger vessels scheduled to start arriving in October. The Port of Tauranga said it largely completed the USD 350 million five-year investment program to be able to handle the much larger transfers of cargo required when servicing larger vessels.  Within the project, the ports shipping channels have now been widened and deepened to 14.5 meters inside the harbor entrance and 15.8 meters outside the harbor. Furthermore, two additional cranes and 13 straddles have now been delivered. In the year ended June 30, 2016, the port recorded a 12.1 percent increase in its container volumes, which jumped to a record of more than 954,000 TEUs from 851,000 TEUs in the previous year. These gains were offset by a decline in bulk cargoes reflecting continuing challenges in New Zealands forestry and agricultural sectors. Notably, log exports fell more than one million tons with declines also in imported stock feed and fertilizer the port authority said. Moreover, total trade in 2016 financial year decreased 0.3 percent to 20.1 million tons. Exports dropped by 1.2 percent to 13.1 million tons, while imports increased by 1.4 percent to 7 million tons. The Port of Taurangas net profit after tax fell 2.4 percent to USD 77.3 million after the completion of the investment program which resulted in higher depreciation rates.