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Final Calls
So to June 2016, and the time has come to bring down the curtain on roughly 180 years of shipping activity on the Manukau Harbour, not forgetting the Cape Foulwind cement works, Holcim's operational home since the 1950s.

Their new silo, on the junction of Bledisloe and Jellicoe Wharves, is fully operational, with 30,000 tonnes of cement having been delivered by two bulk carriers in recent days, and, thanks to Mother Nature's behaviour at the time, a couple of calls from a certain ship whose second home is on t'other side of town - yes, the background pic shows "Westport" discharging cement at Bledisloe Wharf on June 8, during her final call into Auckland.

The final movements were revised thus:
Milburn Carrier II:  arr 0815, 17th; dep 0750, 19th.
Westport:  arr 0945, 19th, whereupon she will lay up at Onehunga until her future is decided.

Mother Nature's intervention - 4m swells at the Manukau Heads - delayed the final action by 24 hours. It was set down for June 18!

Nonetheless, it's time to say goodbye ... but as a wise man said, "In shipping, never say never".

For just six days after retiring, Westport was back in action again, heading south to her home port one more time to take on board the very last load of cement produced by the Cape Foulwind works before it was shut down on 29 June. She crossed the Manukau Bar for the final time three days later, arriving at Onehunga on July 2 to unload her cargo on an 'as required' basis - in effect, becoming a floating silo to supplement the ones standing on the wharf.

Six days later, she was sailing again, this time to anchor as Milburn Carrier II came in to fill the silos with stock from Timaru. They passed off Pt Puponga on July 9, with Westport returning to her berth for the 1103rd - but not the final - time.

For twenty-four hours later, she was off again, back down to Westport, this time to take on board whatever cement was left, mostly at the railhead. A combination of loading via trucks and dear old Mother Nature meant her return was delayed until 1300 hrs, July 23, 2016, when "Westport" tied up at Onehunga for the 1104th and final time. Nearly two months later, she departed, having been sold to European interests to continue her cement-carrying career.

There were two more calls into Onehunga before the Port was closed to shipping forever more on 30 November 2016. Both were made by "Milburn Carrier II", with her 946th and final call taking place on 14 November, departing a day later. And as she set sail, with little fanfare, around 180 years of shipping activity at this terrific little port concluded.