Port Progress

Further progress at the port of Gisborne was seen recently with the berthing of the largest ship ever to come into Gisborne. The bitumen tanker Erne, which is 560 feet long and 20,000 tons dead weight, unloaded 170,000 gallons of bitumen into Bitumen Sprayers' tanks on the seaward end of the overseas wharf.

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Bitumen Sprayers' manager Les McGreevy overlooks the pumping machinery from the long centre cat-walk on board the Erne. The bitumen is actually conveyed to the holding tanks by pipes underneath the top of the wharf.

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The size of the vessel can be gauged from the height at which she rises above the wharf.