THIS past weekend the containership MSC Langsar visited Port Nelson in the South Island of New Zealand.
The port said it was the first time a larger vessel longer 260 metres berthed at its Main Wharf South since its redevelopment.
The NZ$20-million investment to upgrade the wharf was completed in November 2021.
“The upgrade resulted in redeveloping the main wharf’s northern section, increasing the port’s earthquake resilience, moving main wharf container operations further away from residential neighbours, and future-proofing the port to accommodate larger vessels,” Port Nelson said in a statement.
“Port Nelson has previously been able to routinely receive vessels up to 250 metres in length. The arrival of MSC Langsar is part of a process to normalise the arrival of vessels up to 265 metres in length.”
The port said this increase in operating parameters comes following the investment some years ago in a new tug, the increase in the operating length of Main Wharf South and detailed modelling and planning for larger vessel movements.
MSC Langsar is a Liberia-flagged containership with a carrying capacity of 4250 TEU. It is 260.48 metres long (LOA) and its width is 32.35 metres. The vessel is on MSC’s Kiwi Express Service, which calls the ports of Auckland, Wellington, Nelson, Port Chalmers and Lyttelton.
Port Nelson also said it would benefit from new shipping services entering the region, including the commencement of a new trans-Tasman service from Move Logistics, starting next week.
Move Logistics is to operate a recently purchased vessel between Tasmania several New Zealand ports including Nelson.
