Containers held on Wellington's port since the November earthquake will begin moving again after a deal to bring in ships with their own cranes.
Centreport crane. Photo: Centreport
Normal container traffic at Wellington was halted after serious damage to the container terminal as a result of the 14 November earthquake.
Wellington's CentrePort announced today it had negotiated a deal to get containers moved from its ports with weekly visits by a container ship with its own cranes on board, known as a geared container ship.
The service will be supplied by the shipping company ANL - which is part of the world's third largest shipping company, French-owned shipping conglomerate CMA CGM - and is set to start from 12 February.
The move will allow containers to be moved out of Wellington on a regular basis.
However, because only a small percentage of the world's 6000 container ships were 'geared', it would not provide a complete fix.
CentrePort chief executive Derek Nind said work was under way to resume modified crane operations within four to six months.
Photo: CentrePort
"CentrePort understands that customers have faced significant challenges as a result of the disruption caused by the earthquake," he said.
"That's why we've worked closely with ANL on this initiative, which will make it easier for central region businesses to connect with international markets."
The service will connect Wellington shippers directly with Australia, connecting to North America, North Asia, South East Asia and elsewhere.