Maersk Line has shifted the New Zealand hub for its Southern Star container service from Auckland to the Port of Tauranga, in a move that is likely to bring the port’s annual revenue to more than NS$200m (US$156m).
The move was largely motivated by industrial relations problems culminating in a strike at the Port of Auckland, Maersk said in a statement.
“The security of supply chain is of primary importance to our customers, so anything affecting that, or likely to affect that in the future, will come into the equation when we are deciding schedules,” said Maersk Line New Zealand trade and marketing manager Dave Gulik.
The majority of export cargoes shipped out on the Southern Star service are from the producers in the Waikato-Bay of Plenty region, according to Gulik, and transport times to Auckland or Tauranga don’t differ greatly.
Southern Star’s first ship, Euromax, will call into Tauranga this Saturday, and will continue on to Malaysia and Singapore.
Currently jointly operated by Maersk and Malaysia International Shipping Corporation Berhad (MISC), Southern Star is expected to continue uninterrupted when MISC exits the container shipping business in June next year.
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