Ports of Auckland is about to introduce the partial automation of its straddle carrier fleet, the first New Zealand port to do so and only the third in the world.
Both Ports of Auckland and Port Otago have straddle carriers 13m and 15.8m tall, which can respectively stack TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit containers) three high and four high.
Auckland's automated straddle carriers would be used to load and unload trucks and operate the container yard, while the manually driven straddle carriers would continue to work between the yard and ship-to-shore cranes.
Ports of Auckland chief executive Tony Gibson said it would take about three years to implement the changes, and about 50 stevedoring jobs could go, but the company wanted to try to manage the reduction in roles through a combination of staff turnover, retirement and retraining.
Port Otago chief executive Geoff Plunket said the company was not considering a similar option to have any of its 15-strong fleet of straddle carriers automated.
''No, we lack the scale to do that. It's not on our radar,'' he said yesterday.
Mr Plunket said for import ports such as Auckland, it was problematic to stack in-bound containers three or four high, not knowing when a customer would pick them up.
At export-oriented Port Chalmers much container space was taken up with bulk export commodities, but they could be stacked four high, in preparation for a ship's arrival and loading.
Port Otago expects to buy two new straddle cranes next financial year, for around $2.5 million.
He said both Port Chalmers and Auckland had increasing space issues, but for Port Otago the ''first step'' to alleviate that problem was the proposed ''Mosgiel hub'', which would be used to store empty containers.
That would create more on-site capacity at Port Chalmers, Mr Plunket said.
Mr Gibson said straddle automation would increase terminal capacity from just over 900,000 TEUs a year to 1.6million to 1.7million TEUs annually.
''That is enough to support an Auckland population of around 2.7million ... this technology gives us an additional 30 to 40 years of capacity,'' Mr Gibson said.
He said the decision was made after a year's consultation with staff and unions and detailed studies to prove the concept's safety and effectiveness.
