Ports of Auckland's 95metre extension into Harbour seeks Consent

Graphic of the outer end of the mooring dolphin which will end just short of the navigation channel in the Waitemata harbour © Ports of Auckland

New plans have been unveiled for a 90-metre mooring extension off Auckland's Queens Wharf to handle cruise ships currently too large for the city.

The mooring with a public gangway for part of its length would allow ships up to 42 metres longer than Auckland's cruise wharves can currently handle.

A proposed 75m extension was put on hold nearly two years ago, after freshly-elected mayor Phil Goff intervened, questioning the need for a walkway linking the so-called mooring dolphin to the wharf.

The plan for which Auckland development agency Panuku is now seeking a resource consent would build two mooring structures 48m and 82m out from the wharf, with a walkway to the first mooring open to the public when cruise ships are not berthed.

A smaller gangway would give port workers access to the second mooring structure.

Auckland has lost a past stopover by the 342m Queen Mary, due to lack of a wharf, and the 348m Ovation of the Seas has had to moor in the harbour during the past two summers.

Mooring Dolphin with walkways in Bermuda - fitted to allow two cruise ships to dock alongside - doubling the berthage capacity - photo © Port of Bermuda

An economic impact report prepared for Panuku says the mooring could provide at least a $30.4 million boost over the next decade by allowing an increasing number of the largest ships to berth.

The report says in the "likely future" scenario , the spinoff could be an annual GDP boost of $39.5m and up to 779 full-time jobs.

In that scenario by 2028-29 there could be 22 visits per season by the largest class of cruise ship, bringing nearly 136,000 passengers and crew to the city.

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