Lyttelton Port Company – future-thinking and community-orientated

NEW ZEALAND’S PORTS

Lyttelton Port Company – futurethinking and community-orientated BY DANIEL DUNT

LYTTELTON PORT IN CHRISTCHURCH IS THE SOUTH ISLAND’S LARGEST INTERNATIONAL TRADE GATEWAY, FACILITATING THE MOVEMENT OF $6.3 BILLION OF EXPORTS AND $3.9 BILLION OF IMPORTS LAST FINANCIAL YEAR. IT IS HOME TO THE LARGEST CONTAINER TERMINAL OPERATION IN THE SOUTH ISLAND.

The Port holds a crucial role in the economic sustainability of Christchurch and the wider South Island and is therefore committed to developing a profitable Port to ensure that it is able to handle the projected growth in volumes and is sustainable in the long term. Lyttelton Port has a rich and diverse history. Lyttelton Harbour, called Te Whakaraupo (the harbour of bullrush reeds) by Ma -ori and Port Cooper by one of the earliest Pa -keha visitors, runs westwards for 13 kilometres between two headlands – about twokilometres apart. Ma -ori have lived in and around the area since 800AD.

In 1988, the introduction of the Port Companies Act created the Lyttelton Port Company (LPC) which took over the Port’s commercial role including the land, assets and facilities. Shares in the new Port Company were allocated to regional and territorial authorities including Ashburton, Banks Peninsula, Hurunui, Selwyn and Waimakariri District Councils, and the Christchurch City Council. In 1997, other regional and territorial authorities decide to sell their shares in LPC, effectively raising the level of public shareholding to 30 per cent. The Christchurch City Council became the single largest shareholder with a 65 per cent shareholding.

Today, the Lyttelton Port Company is wholly owned by Christchurch City Holdings Limited.

Principal commodities and trade

Lyttelton Port is somewhat unique in terms of New Zealand ports. Simon Munt, General Manager container operations, explains: “While the majority of other ports in New Zealand are primarily based on export commodities, at Lyttelton we are lucky in that we have a balance of import and export. We have sustainable imports for population-based goods, such as retail, as well as goods for manufacturing. On the export side of things, our trade is driven by dairy, meat, logs, fuels, fertiliser and other local goods delivered by Canterbury’s many thriving businesses.” Lyttelton Port is home to the largest coal export facility in New Zealand. A variety of coals are received by train from the West Coast and aggregated in the coal stockyard. Sampling is carried out by an internationally accredited inspection agency and the coal is then loaded onto vessels for export and is used offshore in steel making. Lyttelton’s stockpile can hold up to 335,000 tonnes of coal. By rail, the Port can receive up to seven trains per day. When we hear of coal we think of sustainability, however Lyttelton Port’s Mr Munt emphasises that their trade is driven by coking coal for steel production, for which there is currently no alternative. This considerable part of the Port's operations is therefore likely to continue, despite the move away from fossil fuels for household use.

Container trade and technology

Lyttelton Port has a throughput of more than 440,000 TEUs a year, making it the largest Container Terminal operation in the South Island.

“Containers have grown 5-6 per cent per annum, which is a combination of immediate land of what we service as a port; we also seeing increases in consolidation – volume that’s moving through smaller ports starting to move between bigger hub ports,” Mr Munt explains. Containers are stacked four high in the twelve-and-a-half-hectare secure terminal and managed via SPARCS N4, the latest computerised container management system from Navis. The Container Terminal offers storage for 20ft containers, 40/45ft containers, including over height containers. Storage is available for approximately 8,000 containers with specialised areas for refrigerated, imports, exports, general and empty containers. Containers are received by road and rail and the automated gate system minimises the average turn-round time for trucks. For trucks transferring containers, the terminal has an off-road 10 truck bay for parking allowing documentation to be completed and checked. Two 24-wagon sidings for rail transfers are available and significant technological advances through EDI allow container documentation to be electronically exchanged prior to arrival.

Overcoming adversity

On 4 September 2010 at 4:35am, a 7.1 earthquake shook the Canterbury region. The earthquakes over the 2010/11 period damaged over 75 per cent of the Port’s wharves. This includes the 22 February 2011 earthquake – named the Lyttelton earthquake as it was centred at the Port. The result of this disaster would last for years to come. In 2014, the rebuild of Cashin Quay 2 at Lyttelton Port begun. In June that same year, the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister, Hon Gerry Brownlee, directed Environment Canterbury and LPC to prepare a Lyttelton Port Recovery Plan. The Port Lyttelton Plan – the Port’s 30-year vision for recovery and enhancement – set out to ensure the rebuilt Lyttelton Port is “resilient and efficient, and contributes positively to the social, economic, cultural and environmental wellbeing of Lyttelton township, harbour-side communities and greater Christchurch”. It included the reclamation of up to 24 hectares of land for a new container terminal within Te Awaparahi Bay adjacent to the existing consented 10-hectare reclamation for port operational land.

Bringing the community together

Over the last two decades the Port increasingly became separated from the community due to increased security and health and safety. With this, Mr Munt explains, the Port wanted the community to re-engage, which is why it developed a walk-on, walk-off community marina. Te Ana Marina opened in 2018 as part of the Port’s commitment to bring the community back to the inner harbour. Since it was opened, Te Ana Marina has breathed life back into Lyttelton’s west side waterfront. Set between two traditional sites, O hinehou and Te Ana o Huikai, Te Ana is Canterbury’s only walk-on floating marina. Of the 170 berths, more than 90 per cent have been leased and house various vessels, from powerboats, to mono-hull yachts, catamarans and launches. The Port’s vision for Te Ana has been to create an engaging and vibrant waterfront with public access and connectivity between Lyttelton, the Inner Harbour and the recreational areas of Naval Point. Te Ana has once again opened up Lyttelton’s Harbourside and made it a place where people can connect and enjoy the waterfront.

Future growth

One of the most unique things about Lyttelton Port is its ability to grow over the next half a century. “Through a recovery plan we have been given the consensus we need to grow the port for the next 30-40 years, which is possible only due to our unique geography. This enables us to put plans in place to facilitate larger vessels, which is going to be crucial to sustained growth,” Mr Munt explains. A key example of the Port’s growth potential is the Te Awaparahi Bay reclamation.

The South Island’s growing economy means Lyttelton Port needed more land to handle increasing volumes of export and import trade. The key to greater freight capacity is new land at Te Awaparahi Bay. The first 10ha of the reclamation of the Te Awaparahi Bay reclamation project was completed in 2019, and the second stage, totalling 6 hectares, was completed in December 2020.

Some of this new land is already being used for imported vehicle storage, and this year there will be a further 16 hectares of new land at Te Awaparahi Bay for operational use. Another recent project is the construction of New Zealand’s first ever purpose-built cruise ship facility at Lytellton Port. The cruise berth is now open and operational and is used for a number of bulk cargo operations, and LPC look forward to welcoming some of the world’s largest cruise ships back to Lyttelton in the near future.

Commitment to the environment

LPC has just delivered its first sustainability strategy, which defines clear goals for improving performance in three key focus areas: Prosperity, People and the Planet. “LPC is the gateway for the goods that keep our region moving. We support thousands of jobs and the creation of billions of dollars of wealth for the Canterbury economy.

Our commitment is to continue to do this while growing our strong focus on health and safety, the wellbeing of our workforce, mutual benefits for our communities and importantly, doing our part in addressing the significant global challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss.” LPC are also currently developing an environmental management system in accordance with AS/NZ ISO 14001:2015. It has also joined the Toitu enviromark certification programme, indicating its commitment to continuous environmental improvement. The wildlife surrounding the Port is a key driver in LPC’s sustainability efforts. Seawalls and rock revetments at LPC provide habitat for white flippered penguins (WFP) who use these areas for nesting and moulting. WFP are protected under the Wildlife Act 1953 and are listed as an At Risk, Declining species. To ensure that port operations and construction activities do not impact on their habitat, LPC engages the Kaikoura Ocean Research Institute (KORI) to undertake bi-annual surveys to locate and identify penguin hotspots. The Cawthron Institute also regularly undertakes dive surveys and sediment sampling of the intertidal, subtidal and benthic zones. This work helps LPC to better understand the local marine environment and to ensure our resource consent requirements are complied with, and that port operations are managed, and a healthy harbour retained.

At a glance: • $6.3 worth of exports shipped to the world each year • $3.9 billion worth of imports arrive each year • 446,000 TEU loaded and unloaded each year • Over 600 staff

Dry dock facts: • 137.15m Floor length • 14m Floor width • 146.75m Top length • 18.80m Entrance width • 6m Maximum draught (subject to vessel type)

Lyttelton Port leadership team: • Roger Gray – Chief Executive Officer • Andrew Clark – Chief Financial Officer • Simon Munt – General Manager, container operations • Paul Monk – General Manager, bulk cargo and marine services • Mike Simmers – General Manager, infrastructure and property • Kirstie Gardener – General Manager, people and safety • Phil de Joux – General Manager, engagement and sustainability

DANIEL DUNT is freelance writer, brand and marketing consultant, art director, production designer, and producer based in the United Kingdom.

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Check out our website for previous winners. We showcase the winners for the last nine years! Or read pages four and five of the March issue for the winners of the Rising Star Young Employee of the Year award. And check out the awards criteria on our website: https://cilt.co.nz/awards/categories-and-criteria/ This year’s annual awards dinner is going to be a little different, with our venue the iconic and new facility – Eighteen Sixty-Seven at Wellington College. The evening will start with a champagne reception and canapes – providing for a range of tastes. More details to follow.

The 2021 CILT NZ Annual AGM and Awards Dinner will be held on Thursday, 14 October 2021 in Wellington.