Centreport Wellington Post-Earthquake Recovery of Thorndon Container Wharf Operations

The November 2016 M_w7.8 Kaikoura earthquake in New Zealand caused severe damage to the infrastructure assets at CentrePort in Wellington, including the 585 m long Thorndon Container Wharf. The damage to this wharf was primarily due to liquefaction of the reclamation behind the wharf, and the presence of raker piles under the landward edge of the wharf. Kinematic ground movement resulted in the complete structural failure of numerous piles, especially those supporting the landward wheels of the two ship to shore container cranes. Substantial temporary works were required to secure the container cranes, maintain support to the wharf structure, and stabilise the reclamation behind the wharf, in order to resume container operations utilising the container cranes. This paper outlines the design considerations, development of the design, and other associated works to secure a 125 m operating length of wharf and reclamation to allow restoration of container operations.