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Permanent project revision

Ports of Auckland's Abandoned Container-Terminal Automation

Revision 2026-10-15-baseline · effective 2026-10-15

Current revision. This is the snapshot used by the live entity page.

unreviewed

Created the first structured Evidence Passport with 14 claims and 10 source dossiers.

sha256:ea6aa5149125bdddac49d81036af663e30b78a228cf1c1f476680d61b23c0803
All revisions → Current entity page →

Change set

  • add /evidencePassport — Added claim-level evidence mapping and source dossiers.
  • add /revisionHistory — Established a permanent, hash-addressed baseline revision.
14
of 14 claims mapped
10
source dossiers
9
publication dates recorded
0
archives linked
0
exact locators
0
content captures hashed

Claims, one by one

The text below is copied verbatim from the published record. Each claim names the source dossiers that carry it; caveats stay attached to the claim they qualify.

Claim 1 clm-1dcfc64d79024f32 quantitative
In August 2016 Ports of Auckland, the company wholly owned by Auckland Council, announced it would partially automate its Fergusson Container Terminal by 2019
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
The 2016 trade report carries the port's announcement that it would partially automate its container terminal, complete in 2019; the council's 2022 statement describes the council as the sole shareholder of the port company.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Maritime Executive — Auckland to Automate Container Terminal (13 Aug 2016)
  2. Auckland Council — Auckland Council Seeks Review Of Ports Of Auckland Automation Project (8 Jun 2022, via Scoop)
Claim 2 clm-5f1d6f56d31f8b36 quantitative
saying capacity would rise from just over 900,000 TEU a year to 1.6-1.7 million TEU without further reclamation
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
The port's chief executive is quoted that this stage of automation would lift terminal capacity from just over 900,000 TEU to 1.6-1.7 million TEU a year, because the port could not expand through reclamation.
Caveat
A planning figure, not a measurement. The equipment supplier's 2020 release gives the aim as about 1.4 million TEU a year.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Maritime Executive — Auckland to Automate Container Terminal (13 Aug 2016)
Claim 3 clm-764ce6d618af83fe quantitative
The first phase went live in June 2020 with 27 automated Konecranes straddle carriers supervised by TBA software.
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
The supplier states that the first phase went live in June 2020 and that ships were served by a blended fleet including 27 new automated Konecranes Noell straddle carriers, supervised through TBA's equipment control system.
Caveat
Supplier's own account.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Konecranes — Milestone Konecranes automation project goes live at Ports of Auckland (6 Nov 2020)
Claim 4 clm-4608c2390cad3daa quantitative
On 17 June 2021 a software fault made a container carried by an automated straddle hit a stacked container, and automated operations were paused.
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
The report quotes the port: a software fault on 17 June 2021 resulted in a container carried by an automated straddle hitting a stacked container, and the port would not continue automated operations until the risk had been investigated.
Caveat
The port said no one was at risk at the time; operations later restarted under a revised four-stage plan.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. 1News — Ports of Auckland's automation dream revised (3 Aug 2021)
Claim 5 clm-caffcff3230e3dbe quantitative
In June 2022 the board cancelled the project because the system was not performing to expectations
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
The board chair's statement gives continuing delays, a system not performing to expectations and no confidence in the timeline or cost to completion as the reasons for ceasing automation, after two independent expert assessments said much more money and time were needed.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. interest.co.nz — The Auckland port has ditched the troubled six-year project to automate its container terminal (8 Jun 2022)
Claim 6 clm-168739d5556b02c2 quantitative
wrote off approximately $65 million, mainly the automation software and guidance system, and returned the terminal to fully manual operation
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
The port's statement says it would write off approximately $65 million in investments that would no longer be used, mainly the automation software and guidance system, and return the terminal to a fully manual operation.
Caveat
The audited annual accounts later put the write-off at $63.1 million.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. interest.co.nz — The Auckland port has ditched the troubled six-year project to automate its container terminal (8 Jun 2022)
Claim 7 clm-23ad4c11a2851efe quantitative
The capacity gain did not arrive. The terminal handled 811,565 TEU in the year to June 2022, against 818,238 a year earlier and 973,722 in the year to June 2018.
Published field
impact · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
The annual-result report gives 811,565 TEU for the year to June 2022 against 818,238 the year before; the union-commissioned report tabulates the port's volumes and gives 973,722 TEU for the year to June 2018.
Caveat
These are throughput figures, not capacity; they do not by themselves show what caused the decline.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Newstalk ZB (NZ Herald) — Auckland port posts loss but expects smoother sailing (31 Aug 2022)
  2. International Transport Workers' Federation — Lessons in Failure: Automation at the Port of Auckland (May 2023)
Claim 8 clm-0573599f1d579e97 quantitative
For the year to June 2022 the port reported a $10.3 million loss after a $63.1 million write-off on the project, against a $45.57 million profit the year before.
Published field
impact · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
Both reports of the annual result give a $10.3 million loss for the year to 30 June 2022, attributed to the $63.1 million write-off on the axed automation project, compared with a $45.57 million profit a year earlier.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. interest.co.nz — Ports of Auckland has sailed into the red in the latest financial year (31 Aug 2022)
  2. Newstalk ZB (NZ Herald) — Auckland port posts loss but expects smoother sailing (31 Aug 2022)
Claim 9 clm-86047d087888a9a7 descriptive
The new wharf and cranes built alongside the automation were kept.
Published field
impact · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
The chief executive is quoted that the new infrastructure built as part of the project, such as the new wharf and cranes, provides extra capacity needed for future growth.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. interest.co.nz — The Auckland port has ditched the troubled six-year project to automate its container terminal (8 Jun 2022)
Claim 10 clm-829c09e83d81274f descriptive
The independent governance review the board commissioned at the council's request located the failure in procurement and oversight rather than in the machines
Published field
lesson · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
The newspaper reports that, at the council's request, the port board appointed the company director Mark Binns to review the governance of the automation decision, and that his findings concern vendor selection, the business case, contract terms, project organisation and board oversight.
Caveat
That the review places the failure in governance rather than in the equipment is this entry's reading of the reported findings. The former chief executive rejects them and says the software vendor was not interviewed.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. NZ Herald — Damning report on Auckland port's automation project finds multiple failures (20 Sep 2022)
  2. Newsroom — Ousted Ports of Auckland boss hits back, ahead of court hearing (29 Sep 2022)
Claim 11 clm-5daadebc028c0ca9 quantitative
the vendor selection process was not sufficiently well-structured, the chosen vendor had been working with the company as a consultant since 2012, the contract was negotiated without any adequate software performance guarantees
Published field
lesson · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
The newspaper summarises and quotes the independent review by Mark Binns: vendor selection not sufficiently well-structured, the chosen vendor working with the company as a consultant since 2012, and the contract negotiated without any adequate software performance guarantees.
Caveat
The review itself, described as a short summary document, was read here through press quotation. The former chief executive and chair disputed its findings.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. NZ Herald — Damning report on Auckland port's automation project finds multiple failures (20 Sep 2022)
Claim 12 clm-f3c231160bed8d79 descriptive
the board did not take the steps necessary to understand the risks
Published field
lesson · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
The review is quoted that it was incumbent on the board to fully understand the risks the company was assuming, and that on balance the board did not take the steps necessary to ensure this.
Caveat
Read through press quotation of the review.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. NZ Herald — Damning report on Auckland port's automation project finds multiple failures (20 Sep 2022)
Claim 13 clm-5fdaf2e5c9a9a83c quantitative
A council-ordered health and safety review had found in March 2021 that the automation project was unable to make a robust safety case for the automated straddles.
Published field
lesson · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
The report quotes the March 2021 health and safety review of the port, ordered by Auckland Council after a worker death, as finding that the automation project was unable to make a robust safety case for the development and operation of the automated straddles.
Caveat
Quoted from a union-commissioned report; the safety review is not itself among this entry's sources. The same report says no one was hurt by the automated straddles.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. International Transport Workers' Federation — Lessons in Failure: Automation at the Port of Auckland (May 2023)
Claim 14 clm-12b81b6f1e422791 descriptive
Public ownership did not supply the missing check: under the Port Companies Act the shareholder has limited ability to intervene, and when the decision was made an intermediary company kept the port at arm's length from council oversight
Published field
lesson · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
The mayor's statement says that under the Port Companies Act the board runs the company and the shareholder has limited ability to intervene in operational matters, and that Auckland Council Investments Ltd kept the port at arm's length from council oversight at the time of the decision.
Caveat
This is the owner's own account of its limited role; a senior councillor called the council 'a lazy port owner'.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Auckland Council — Auckland Council Seeks Review Of Ports Of Auckland Automation Project (8 Jun 2022, via Scoop)

Source dossiers and revision state

This layer records what is known about each source, what is still missing, and the exact snapshot this page is rendering. A missing date, archive or hash stays visible as missing.

unreviewed Revision 2026-10-15-baseline effective 2026-10-15 · created 2026-10-15

Awaiting operator and domain-expert review; publication of this revision implies neither.

sha256:ea6aa5149125bdddac49d81036af663e30b78a228cf1c1f476680d61b23c0803
Revision history → Permanent version link → Machine-readable record → Evidence Constitution →
14
of 14 claims mapped
10
source dossiers
9
publication dates recorded
0
archives linked
0
exact locators
0
content captures hashed

Governance facts carried by the record

Operator
Ports of Auckland Ltd (company wholly owned by Auckland Council); automated straddle carriers by Konecranes, terminal and equipment-control software by TBA Group
Actor types
city-government, private
Funding model
public
Funding description
Ports of Auckland Ltd's own balance sheet; the company is wholly owned by Auckland Council
Cost
Approximately NZ$65 million written off in June 2022 (NZ$63.1 million in the FY2022 accounts); no audited total for the automation project was located
Ownership
Not recorded
Decision rights
Not recorded
Exit conditions
Not recorded

10 source dossiers

Maritime Executive — Auckland to Automate Container Terminal (13 Aug 2016) maritime-executive.com · 2 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-8bb8df7aeb4df847
Publisher
Name not classified · maritime-executive.com
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2016-08-13
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-10-15
Dossier created
2026-10-15
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Trade-press report of the port's August 2016 announcement, quoting chief executive Tony Gibson: partial automation of the container terminal, complete in 2019, with automated straddle carriers working the truck grid and yard while stevedores keep driving between yard and cranes; capacity from just over 900,000 TEU to 1.6-1.7 million TEU a year because the port cannot expand through reclamation; around 50 stevedoring roles could go; the port's claim to be the first New Zealand port and only the third straddle-carrier terminal in the world to automate.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Konecranes — Milestone Konecranes automation project goes live at Ports of Auckland (6 Nov 2020) investors.konecranes.com · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-6a3d08de81dbf0f6
Publisher
Name not classified · investors.konecranes.com
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2020-11-06
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-10-15
Dossier created
2026-10-15
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

The equipment supplier's release: the first phase went live in June 2020; by September 26 ships had been served by a blended fleet of 24 enhanced manual straddle carriers and 27 new automated Konecranes Noell straddle carriers, supervised through TBA's TEAMS equipment control system; it gives the capacity aim as about 900,000 to 1.4 million TEU a year. Vendor material, cited for the go-live date and fleet composition.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
1News — Ports of Auckland's automation dream revised (3 Aug 2021) 1news.co.nz · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-74a9b6f1c0fc1cd4
Publisher
Name not classified · 1news.co.nz
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2021-08-03
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-10-15
Dossier created
2026-10-15
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Reports that phase one had handled over 100 ships but that speed and reliability were not yet up to expectations; that on 17 June 2021 a software fault caused a container carried by an automated straddle to hit a stacked container and the port paused automated operations; and the revised four-stage plan with a go-live judged achievable by late March 2022.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
interest.co.nz — The Auckland port has ditched the troubled six-year project to automate its container terminal (8 Jun 2022) interest.co.nz · 3 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-88011929c538f88d
Publisher
Name not classified · interest.co.nz
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2022-06-08
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-10-15
Dossier created
2026-10-15
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Carries the port's cancellation statement verbatim: the board chair's reasons (continuing delays, the system not performing to expectations, no confidence in timeline or cost to completion), two independent expert assessments that both said much more money and time were needed, the write-off of approximately $65 million 'mainly the automation software and guidance system', the retained new wharf and cranes, and the return to fully manual operation.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Auckland Council — Auckland Council Seeks Review Of Ports Of Auckland Automation Project (8 Jun 2022, via Scoop) scoop.co.nz · 2 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-1ef4fe616c7c0f98
Publisher
Name not classified · scoop.co.nz
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2022-06-08
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-10-15
Dossier created
2026-10-15
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

The sole shareholder's statement on the day of cancellation: Mayor Phil Goff calls it wasted expenditure of around $65 million, says the board is responsible under the Port Companies Act and the shareholder has limited ability to intervene, that Auckland Council Investments Ltd kept the port at arm's length at the time of the decision, and asks the board for a review of the process.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
interest.co.nz — Ports of Auckland has sailed into the red in the latest financial year (31 Aug 2022) interest.co.nz · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-f9dea3cdd2c60db6
Publisher
Name not classified · interest.co.nz
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2022-08-31
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-10-15
Dossier created
2026-10-15
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Reports the annual result for the year to 30 June 2022: a $10.3 million loss against a $45.57 million profit a year earlier, after a $63.1 million write-off on the axed automation project.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Newstalk ZB (NZ Herald) — Auckland port posts loss but expects smoother sailing (31 Aug 2022) newstalkzb.co.nz · 2 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-7d0a8ff821aa866d
Publisher
Name not classified · newstalkzb.co.nz
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2022-08-31
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-10-15
Dossier created
2026-10-15
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Same annual result, adding container volume: 811,565 TEU in the year to June 2022 against 818,238 a year earlier.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
NZ Herald — Damning report on Auckland port's automation project finds multiple failures (20 Sep 2022) nzherald.co.nz · 3 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-4c9d89e8821bf94e
Publisher
Name not classified · nzherald.co.nz
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2022-09-20
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-10-15
Dossier created
2026-10-15
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Quotes the independent governance review by Mark Binns, appointed by the port board at the council's request: vendor selection not sufficiently well-structured, an unsatisfactory business case, a contract without adequate software performance guarantees, a chosen vendor that had worked for the port as a consultant since 2012, lacking governance around contractual milestones, and the conclusion that the board did not take the steps necessary.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
International Transport Workers' Federation — Lessons in Failure: Automation at the Port of Auckland (May 2023) munz.org.nz · 2 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-9c65a6ec936d3adc
Publisher
Name not classified · munz.org.nz
Type / language
pdf · language not classified
Published
Not recorded
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-10-15
Dossier created
2026-10-15
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

A research report commissioned by the dockworkers' section of a global transport union federation, published by the Maritime Union of New Zealand. Cited for its quotation of the March 2021 council-ordered health and safety review ('the automation project is unable to make a robust safety case'), its statement that no one was hurt by the automated straddles, and its table of the port's container volumes, 973,722 TEU in the year to June 2018. An advocate's account; its cost estimates are not used here.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Newsroom — Ousted Ports of Auckland boss hits back, ahead of court hearing (29 Sep 2022) newsroom.co.nz · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-5d7d0d08013d260c
Publisher
Name not classified · newsroom.co.nz
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2022-09-29
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-10-15
Dossier created
2026-10-15
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Interview with former chief executive Tony Gibson, who rejects the Binns review point by point: he says the reviewer did not interview the software vendor TBA and that software performance guarantees of the kind expected do not exist in the ports industry; the article describes the review as a two-and-a-half-page summary and quotes its finding that changing the acceptance testing was 'incomprehensible'.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Known limits of this file
  • Publisher names and source languages have not yet been classified; domains are recorded without guessing.
  • Existing source notes are descriptive locators, not page- or paragraph-exact citations.
  • A missing archive, publication date or content hash is shown as null rather than inferred.
  • The project-level evidence grade ranks the strongest source in the entry; it is not a truth score for every claim.