A cellphone shot of the ship. Photo / Annaliese Bishop
A cellphone shot of the ship. Photo / Annaliese Bishop
KEY POINTS:
A ship leaning heavily at the stern in the Auckland Harbour is not in trouble, Ports of Auckland says.
Members of the public have called the ports authority and the harbour master's office, asking if the ship was in trouble.
Harbour Master John Lee Richards said the NoraMaersk is having a hull thruster repaired and will be bought back alongside the wharf at 5.30am.
Deputy harbour master Jim Dilley said: "I've been amazed at the number of people calling up."
The vessel is between Devonport and Mission Bay and Mr Dilley said it's in "no danger at all".
He said usually repairs like this are done when the ship is alongside a wharf where most people would not notice the lean.
He said as more and more wharf space is taken for public access, ships will need to anchor out in the harbour.
Auckland is still a way off from Singapore though, where sometimes up to 60 ships could be waiting to unload and load-up cargo.
"It's just like waiting for a parking space," Mr Dilley said.
Ports of Auckland spokeswoman Karen Bradshaw said Maersk had asked Ports of Auckland to load up the stern so repair work could be carried out on the bow.
"Auckland is an all-weather harbour. It's completely normal," she said.
Ms Bradshaw said ships travelling around the world often need running repairs.
Maersk's marine operations manager Neville Kershaw said the ship is undergoing urgent repairs to a side thruster.
He said there is not a dry dock large enough in New Zealand to work on the 200m long container ship.
"We've been planning it for a number of days and we have permission from the Harbour Master and Ports of Auckland," Mr Kershaw said.
