Port people Manager Operations Nigel Drake retires after 30 years at Port Port of Tauranga farewells an employee who has steered the operations team through teething pain and rapid growth – as well as the occasional crisis. Nigel Drake, Port of Tauranga’s Manager Operations, has been with the Company for nearly three decades since joining as a pilot. He retires this month. “I’d always wanted to live and work here, ever since I’d joined my first ship in Mount Maunganui in 1969,” he says. Nigel had a virtual blank canvas when he blown off a ship into the harbour in the In retirement, he will return to days of took the helm as Marine Manager in 1992 middle of a powerful storm. spending more time on the water instead at the urging of then Chief Executive, of on land. He has a new launch for In October, the emergency was the Jon Mayson. coastal cruising, owns shares in historic grounding of the container ship Rena off motorboats moored at Lake Taupo, and “There was no rulebook. Harbour boards the Bay of Plenty coast. “Being woken at is a well-known competitor in an annual had disappeared and the old way of doing 2am to be told this news is something home-built dinghy race on the things was gone,” says Nigel. “I am proud that I will never forget. Working through Waikato River. of the way I got things going.” the consequences in the following weeks “My style isn’t confrontational and I was incredibly busy and stressful,” “The Port has been a fantastic place to encourage self-sufficiency in my team. says Nigel. work,” says Nigel. “I am moving on but others are continuing and will grow the Those things are reflected in the way the The brief breakdown of another ship, the Port. They will find this company a great whole operation works.” Schelde Trader, at the harbour entrance place to be associated with, just as Nigel also has a reputation for a few weeks after the Rena incident, I have.” maintaining a cool head in a crisis. seemed surreal. “I wish all of them well for the future – Over the years, they have included the “After a few hours of frantic activity, the IN THIS ISSUE: one which has every chance of being Port emerges from intense period occasional ship grounding, a collision in situation was resolved, but both events very bright.” of cargo growth the pilot zone, as well as containers being will long be remembered by me,” says Nigel. • Port emerges from intense period of cargo growth A team effort on the part of Port of Tauranga staff • Port partners support and service providers – as well as the patience of its News in brief rescue chopper winch customers – has seen the Company weather a period Tertiary scholarships awarded fundraising of rapid growth in cargo volumes. Four new students have been named as recipients of a Port of Tauranga scholarship for tertiary study, bringing the total recipients for 2012 to eight. “It has required a massive effort from “It is vital to us that we maintain and • Port of Tauranga’s The Turirangi Te Kani Memorial Scholarships, which honour one of Tauranga’s everyone,” says Port of Tauranga Chief improve our already world-leading leading community figures, have been awarded annually by the Port for 22 years. world-leading effi ciency Executive, Mark Cairns. “I must thank customer service and efficiency, and recognised by Productivity everyone in the Port family, as well we need to invest in the equipment and This year’s recipients are: Kahurangi Ahomiro (Bachelor of Nursing Degree Commission as our customers. They’ve been very people required to do that.” at Bay of Plenty Polytechnic), Hikitapu Ngata (Engineering Degree at Waikato understanding as our infrastructure has University), James Simonsson (Health Science-Orthopaedics at Otago To this end, Port of Tauranga has been pushed to the limit of its current University) and Aurere Thatcher (Degree in Media and Creative Technologies at • Customer profi le: announced plans to add a seventh ship- capacity.” Waikato University). Swire Shipping to-shore gantry crane for its Sulphur Port of Tauranga’s Commercial Manager, Point fleet. Four second and third year students will receive scholarship funds again in L-R: Mark Cairns, Chief Executive, Port of Tauranga Graeme Marshall, concurs. “The feedback 2012: Te Haana Jacob, Danielle Lucas, Natasha Martin and Fonteyn Gear. Limited; Jack and Awhina Thatcher (parents of • Port of Tauranga The Port will also expand its fleet of Aurere Thatcher); Hikitapua Ngata; Joyce Haigh from our customers has been very straddle carriers and increase the (aunt of Kahu Ahomiro) and James Simonsson rescue winch launch positive despite the inevitable delays as Rena operations continue capacity of its rail terminal at Sulphur Note: where students were unable to attend, family we’ve been stretched,” he says. Salvage crews continue to use Port of Tauranga as a base for work on the • Port people Point as it is increasingly used as a hub members attended on their behalf. Overall container numbers handled by port for North Island importers and wreck of the Rena, aground on Astrolabe Reef off the Bay of Plenty coast. • News in brief Port of Tauranga increased by 17.1% in the exporters. The exclusion zone around the Rena has been reduced to two nautical miles as salvors remove containers from the partially six months to December 2011, with a 40% The announcements are on top of nearly submerged vessel. increase in transshipped containers. $150 million worth of capital works already Debris from the ship is not expected to affect operations at the Port. The growth has been due to new services, under way or planned at the Terminal, as well as the short-term increase due to including a 170 metre wharf extension. Dredging plans back in court in April diverted ships from Auckland. Container A sixth gantry crane has already been The Environment Court has recommended to the Minister of Conservation that the Port be granted consent to proceed with numbers over the next few months are ordered from manufacturers Liebherr for dredging works to widen and deepen Tauranga shipping channels. being boosted again by the temporary delivery in early 2013. relocation of Fonterra’s upper North Two appeals have been lodged in the High Court, with a three day hearing set down for early April. Reorganisation of the rail sidings at ISSUE 30: MAR 2012 Island export business to Tauranga. Sulphur Point over the next few months “Since the middle of last year we have will create space to allow two trains at 1PSUPG5BVSBOHB-JNJUFE 4BMJTCVSZ"WFOVF .PVOU.BVOHBOVJ 1SJWBUF#BH 5BVSBOHB.BJM$FOUSF 5BVSBOHB /FX;FBMBOE secured seven new shipping services, once to be safely and quickly loaded and 1I 'BY &NBJMNBSLFUJOH!QPSUUBVSBOHBDPO[XXXQPSUUBVSBOHBDPO[ which will underpin the growth in unloaded. KiwiRail recently increased train container volumes into the future,” capacity to and from MetroPort to 636 says Mark. TEU per day each way. Port for the Future Port for the Future eee^]`bbOc`O\UOQ]\h eee^]`bbOc`O\UOQ]\h 1SJOUFEPO"NCBTTBEPS3FDZDMFE4BUJO Customer profi le: Swire Shipping Swire Shipping plans to expand capacity Swire Shipping is one of Port of we can offer services to a wide range of Australia, the Pacific Islands, North Tauranga’s biggest customers, with a importers and exporters in New Zealand.” America and many parts of Asia. total of 10 vessel calls per month from Port for the Future Swire Shipping has been operating in “We have a very good working four services. New Zealand for many years and in 2009 relationship with Port of Tauranga. Our infrastructure investment Swire Shipping is the liner services took over the minority shareholding of They have a flexible and very helpful programme is well under way as we division of Singapore-based China Tasman Orient Line and incorporated all approach,” says Randy. expand to meet the growth in cargo Navigation Company, which is celebrating of its services under the Swire Shipping volumes at the Port, particularly in its 140th anniversary this year. The brand. The company now operates container traffic. company is planning to increase capacity services between New Zealand and Some of this growth is due to on several of its services in the near temporary spikes in volumes caused by future. the diversion of vessels to Tauranga to Central to the plan is the likely avoid the ongoing industrial action at introduction to some of the New Zealand Ports of Auckland. trade’s of new state-of-the-art, 31,000 However, much of the growth is due to DWT multipurpose vessels – the first of the new services we have attracted which is on schedule to be delivered in in the past year and we’re expecting Port partners support rescue January 2013. that growth to continue apace as Swire Shipping’s, New Zealand General importers, exporters and shipping lines chopper winch fundraising Manager, Randy Selvaratnam (pictured are attracted by our world-leading right), confirmed that eight of the productivity and service levels. Members of the Port family have been doing their bit to raise vessels would be delivered next year. For us, our efficiency is irrelevant if “While the final deployment plans our safety performance is not equally money for the Port of Tauranga Rescue Winch Project. are yet to be finalised, the nature strong. Despite some scurrilous claims The helicopter at the Port of Tauranga of our breakbulk trades to and from made during the fracas between Ports As part of the Port of Tauranga Half Another Port of Tauranga Half Ironman Half Ironman fi nish New Zealand make them ideal recipients of Auckland and the Maritime Union of Ironman in January, the Company’s competitor, Miami-based Craig Milan, of our new S Class vessels,” he says.