Since the second week of last month, the port has hosted
visits by nine container ships calling for the first time,
with five appearing over the last eight days. Latest to
arrive, yesterday, was Hamburg-Sud's Bahia Castillo.
After the steamer Waimana featured in this column a
fortnight ago, the Dunedin waterfront scene that appeared in
the ODT the following Saturday (100 years ago - from
our archives) could not have come at a more appropriate time.
For one of the vessels in the illustration was
Rangatira.
The arrival of AP Sveti Vlano at Port Chalmers
yesterday is of very special interest. With a gross tonnage
of 32,578gt it is the largest vessel to call here to load
logs. The handymax bulk carrier is also the first
Vietnamese-built vessel to enter this harbour.
More chartered vessels calling here for the first time over
the next week or so are the container ships Algarrobo
and Welle, on the Tanjung Pelepas service, Christa
Rickmers on the CMA CGM Port Kelang operation, plus the
largest vessel to loads logs at Dunedin, Falcon Trader
II.
Over the past few weeks there has been an influx of container
ships calling here for the first time, namely Buxlink,
Hansa Meersburg, Maersks Izmir and Norwich, Marianne Schulte,
Rena and Sydney.
Commencing on Saturday and continuing until later this week,
an interesting run of bulk/lumber carriers will have visited
both the fertiliser and Beach St berths. Several of these
vessels have been here before under different names.
Three chartered container ships calling here for the first
time this week are Buxlink for Mediterranean Shipping,
Maersk Norwich (Maersk) and Hansa Meersburg.
Over the coming weeks the container terminal will be visited
by an interesting line-up of vessels entering the New Zealand
trade. Of the eleven ships scheduled to call, only two have
been seen here before.
