When the Japanese-owned container ship Godwit berthed at Port Chalmers on January 29, 1977, to open the then new container berth, it was the first vessel of more than 30,000gt to enter this harbour.
The 31,671gt (later 32,416gt) ship heralded in an era of larger visitors to the port and by the time it made its 160th, and final, appearance here on June 2, 1996, much larger vessels were becoming regular visitors.
At that time, the largest visitor was the 70,327gt Queen Elizabeth 2, which had made its first visit on February 4, 1992.
Godwit fitted into the 30,000gt-40,000gt range of vessels, of which more than 100 have now visited Port Chalmers, some under two names.
As a matter of interest, another 18 bulk carriers and tankers in excess of 30,000gt have visited the upper harbour in the last five years.
Cruise ships, several gearless bulkers, car carriers that no longer come this way, and Zhen Hua 16 , which arrived with the second new container crane on June 16, 2007, all belong in this bracket.
At the top are 45 container ships, followed by 31 woodchip carriers.
The export woodchip trade to Japan was inaugurated when the NYK Line's 19,495gt Hiro Maru berthed on April 15, 1977.
These owners were one of the pioneers in the development of the specialised woodchip carrier.
Hiro Maru was completed by the Nippon Kokan yard at Shimizu in March, 1967.
One of the earlier vessels of this type, it had been built for service between Japan and North America, one of the first trades to employ these vessels..
Along with other types built since then, woodchip carriers have also increased in size.
The largest to have loaded here was the 47,928gt Albany Pioneer, built in 2007, which berthed on November 27, 2008.
This week, Crimson Jupiter, another newcomer to the trade, will load the 113th shipment. Altogether, 43 Japanese-built vessels of varying size, including the bulk carriers General Santos and Stamford Trader, have loaded these full or part-loads at Port Chalmers.
Crimson Jupiter is registered at Panama, owned by the Gemini Investment Company Ltd of the Marshall Islands and managed by the Sincere Navigation Corporation of Taipei.
The vessel entered service on October 14, 1996, and was built by the Hashihama Shipbuilding Company at Tadotsu.
The 14-knot vessel has an overall length of 199.90m, a breadth of 32.20m and a loaded draught of 11.527m.
Compared to a normal bulk carrier, the woodchip carrier is a high, slab-sided type and, in the case of Crimson Jupiter, its six holds have a depth of 22.65m and a total capacity of 102,217cu m.
This newcomer is a 39,901gt vessel, having a deadweight capacity of 48,205 tonnes.
In comparison, a bulk carrier designed to carry heavy cargoes of around the 39,900gt mark could, depending on design, carry anything from 74,000dwt to 76,000dwt.
There has been a run of log ships since the beginning of last month, with most spending little time in port.
Sunny Ruby, due for the first time this week to complete loading, will be in for only a couple of days before heading off to Inchon.
The 19,887gt vessel is another of the larger handy-size carriers.
