NEW ZEALAND's north island Port of Tauranga has ordered two Liebherr super post panamax ship-to-shore cranes to be delivered in 2013 and 2014, bringing the number of quay cranes to seven.

Box volumes were up 17.1 per cent at Tauranga to 344,081 TEU over a six-month period, an increase attributed to strikes at the rival Ports of Auckland.

Tauranga recently announced half-year record profits, noted UK's Port Technology International, adding that Auckland also lost contracts when Maersk and New Zealand's big dairy producer, Fonterra, which shifted away from troubled Auckland.

The new cranes have an outreach of 48 metres with a lift height of 32 metres. They have a 60-tonne capacity with a hoist speed of 70-175 metres per minute and a trolley speed of 220 metres per minute as well as a crane travel speed of 45 metres per minute.