The Ovation of the Seas is part of a new breed of mega-cruise ship. Currently being built in Germany, its sister ship the Quantum of the Seas is shown here. Source: NZ HeraldOne of the new generation of billion dollar plus mega cruise ships is heading for New Zealand.
Royal Caribbean’s Ovation of the Seas will cruise in New Zealand and Australian waters next year and will be the biggest cruise ship to ever visit.
Its arrival is a coup for the fast-growing cruise industry in this country – one of the most rapidly expanding in the world – and the tourism sector which has targeted the industry as a source of high numbers of increasingly wealthy visitors.
Ovation is still being built at a shipyard in Germany and when finished will be 348m long and 168,666 gross registered tonnes.
The biggest cruise ship to enter New Zealand so far is the Queen Mary 2 at 148,528 gross tonnes and 345m in length. Another Royal Caribbean ship, Voyager of the Seas regularly calls here and is 311m and 137,276 tonnes although has to date been the biggest by the number of passengers.
Good to see that the 348 metre long mega ship is coming to visit Auckland next year. That said the irony has not been lost on me either that the ship will technically only be able to fit on Bledisole or Wnyard Wharf (see below).
Berths along water front including length
For the ship to fit on Bledisole without the wharf extensions the Marsden Wharf would need to go which is touted in the Central Wharves Strategy. Fail that Bledisole would need to be extended. The other option which is a more long term option is for the Waterfront Auckland owned Wynyard Wharf to be converted from a liquid bulk terminal as current to a passenger terminal. Now with the tank farm on Wynyard Point going within the next 15 years utilising a converted Wynyard Wharf would be ideal.
Why?
Passengers disembark into a high end retail, commercial, residential, hotel, hospitality area that is more dispersed than the Quay Street area
Public transport links as buses, light rail and eventually the North Shore Line come on stream
Takes 5,000 passengers and supporting buses or trucks (for supplies) away from the busy Quay Street which handles people, traffic and freight
No blocking those views from Queens Wharf if the ship was docked at Bledisole
So yes the irony of this big mega ship has not been lost on me in the port debate at all.
My thoughts on the Future Port Study The All About Auckland interview on the Future Port Study has gone up early and you can see it below: Source: http://www.allaboutauckland.com/video/2911/the-little-port-of-waitemata-episode-57-all-about-auckland-show … Continue reading Talking Port Future Study – The Video
Also on The Nation Twitter Panel today After the Mayor walked out of a Governing Body meeting on Thursday in regards to the Port of Auckland issue (call it as … Continue reading Cameron Brewer on Port of Auckland
Auckland Council has confirmed its support for the Cultural Impact Assessment (CIA) requirements in the Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan.
Some amendments agreed by the Auckland Development Committee (24 March, 2015) will ensure the requirements only apply in situations where there is the potential for a resource consent to have an adverse impact on the cultural values of Auckland’s Mana Whenua.
“This will be the council’s position going into mediation with Aucklanders who have made submissions on this aspect of the Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan,” said chief planning officer Dr Roger Blakeley. “The council remains open to discussing the views of submitters and exploring ways of reaching a common ground.”
When the CIA requirements came into effect in September 2013, concerns were raised about the difficulty applicants might have engaging directly with Mana Whenua to confirm whether or not a CIA is required, and if so, how one might be prepared.
To address these concerns, the council set up a facilitation service in March last year which has dealt with almost 300 applications in that time. Of those, 36 resulted in Mana Whenua confirming a CIA is required. This is from a total of over 10,000 resource consent applications in roughly the same period.
“The council has received a considerable amount of positive feedback about the CIA facilitation service and intends to continue it into the foreseeable future,” Dr Blakeley added.
“Protecting Auckland’s rich cultural heritage is fundamentally important as our city grows. Maori cultural heritage is a key component of this,” he said.
“The council’s Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan takes a step forward from the work a number of Auckland’s former councils had undertaken in addressing this issue. The CIA requirements do not provide Mana Whenua with a ‘right of veto’ over development in Auckland.
“They are a critical tool that ensures the council is in an informed position when it comes to assessing the impacts of development on cultural heritage and the values held by Mana Whenua, but ultimately decisions still rest with the council.”
Mediation on submissions starts next week, with the hearings scheduled in May.
Talking Southern Auckland 