Story: Shipping

The ACT 7

The ACT 7

By 1977–78 New Zealand’s European trade had also been fully containerised with ships such as the unimaginatively named group, ACTs 1–7, of the Associated Container Transportation Company (ACT). ACT 7 was 43,878 tons and an impressive 248.6 metres long. She carried 2,002 containers, 993 of them refrigerated, a very high ratio by world standards. Her high running costs (about $46,000 a day) made longer working days a necessity. Here, Captain McPhail supervises her departure from Auckland’s floodlit Fergusson container terminal.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, Dominion Post Collection (PAColl-7327)
Reference: EP-Shipping-Containers-01

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page:

Gavin McLean, 'Shipping - The container revolution', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/5773/the-act-7 (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Gavin McLean, published 12 Jun 2006, updated 1 Jan 2016