Maersk may end another Auckland service
Giant shipping line Maersk says it may be forced to shift another large shipping service from the Ports of Auckland to a more stable port around the country, if the industrial dispute with its wharfies is not resolved.
This comes after Ports of Auckland received a major blow yesterday when Maersk said it would remove its Southern Star service to the Port of Tauranga, citing future industrial unrest as the key reason, reported Waikato Times.
Ports of Auckland expects to lose 52 ship calls, 82,500 containers, and more than US$20 million in revenue annually.
Port of Tauranga chief executive Mark Cairns said it had been lobbying hard to get the service and expects it will lift containers throughput at the port by 25 per cent to 50,000 to 75,000 containers a year, compared to last year.
Maersk Line NZ trade and marketing manager Dave Gulik said it did not plan to shift any more services from Auckland currently but it might also have to consider "putting the Northern Star somewhere else" if the industrial disruption was prolonged.
The Northern Star was an important service for exporters who are keen to get product out efficiently before business shuts down over the Christmas holidays.
The Northern Star Service and the Southern Star service provide New Zealand-based shippers with direct access to the Asian hub ports of Port Klang and Tanjung Pelepas in Malaysia.
Maersk was looking at contingencies on a case-by-case basis for all its services scheduled to call at the Auckland container terminals over the next week.
The shipping company had committed the Southern Star service to Tauranga until the middle of next year, Gulik said.
The Maritime Union and Ports of Auckland have been unable to reach a resolution over their collective employment contract, which led to the Bledisloe and Fergusson container terminals being shut for four days. Another four-day stoppage is due to start on Thursday night.
Mediation between the parties is set down for 9am this Friday when the next strike will already be under way after the company pulled out of scheduled talks yesterday.
Ports of Auckland chief executive Tony Gibson was still hopeful of a resolution and said he had delayed yesterday's talks to have time to reflect on the impact of Maersk's move.
Meanwhile, Ports of Auckland and union are blaming each other for the loss of the Maersk service to Tauranga, reported The New Zealand Herald.
A senior Auckland official, Gary Swift, told the Herald that other shipping companies could follow Maersk and move to Tauranga.
Swift, who heads Auckland Council's investment arm which owns the port company, said the loss of the Maersk contract was unexpected and alarming and would have a financial effect on the port company and the council.
A forecast dividend of $18 million from the port company to the council in the 2011-2012 financial year would be down, Swift said, but he did not know by how much.
The issue has flared in the corridors of the Super City.
Mayor Len Brown is urging both sides in the industrial dispute to get back around the negotiating table and Citizens & Ratepayers leader Christine Fletcher is demanding answers to avoid significant financial consequences for ratepayers.
Brown said he was concerned about the short and long-term implications of the loss of any shipping contract for the company and council, but the real issue was coping with future growth of cargo through the three upper North Island ports of Auckland, Tauranga and Northland.
Fletcher also attacked the former Auckland Regional Council for driving the ports company into financial crisis about three years ago by pillaging'' its balance sheet for excessive transport dividends.
Former regional council chairman and Auckland councillor Mike Lee said Fletcher was making ill-informed political barracking from the sidelines.
Ports chief executive Tony Gibson and Maritime Union national president Garry Parsloe disagree over how much the industrial action was a factor in the Southern Star decision.
Gibson blamed the union for the loss of the contract, saying Maersk told him the only reason for switching the contract was the industrial action, which would lead to job losses.
Maersk have explained to us that the possibility of further industrial action has been central to their decision to shift the service to Tauranga,'' Gibson said.
Maersk Line New Zealand trade and marketing manager Dave Gulik said industrial action was a significant factor but not the only factor.
Parsloe said it was odd for Gibson to be blaming the union when he was locking staff out and keeping ships from being turned over.
There have been negotiations going on for some time about those vessels calling in to Tauranga,'' Parsloe said.
Port of Tauranga chief executive Mark Cairns said the company had been working for some time to attract a new import ship call to Tauranga, and was pleased to gain the weekly service.
Heart of the City chief executive Alex Swney said industrial action by the union was wrong but may come with a silver lining for Aucklanders.
We don't want to kick the port while it's down.
But perhaps it takes a standoff like this to really focus attention on whether or not we want more containers cluttering up our doorstep.''
This comes after Ports of Auckland received a major blow yesterday when Maersk said it would remove its Southern Star service to the Port of Tauranga, citing future industrial unrest as the key reason, reported Waikato Times.
Ports of Auckland expects to lose 52 ship calls, 82,500 containers, and more than US$20 million in revenue annually.
Port of Tauranga chief executive Mark Cairns said it had been lobbying hard to get the service and expects it will lift containers throughput at the port by 25 per cent to 50,000 to 75,000 containers a year, compared to last year.
Maersk Line NZ trade and marketing manager Dave Gulik said it did not plan to shift any more services from Auckland currently but it might also have to consider "putting the Northern Star somewhere else" if the industrial disruption was prolonged.
The Northern Star was an important service for exporters who are keen to get product out efficiently before business shuts down over the Christmas holidays.
The Northern Star Service and the Southern Star service provide New Zealand-based shippers with direct access to the Asian hub ports of Port Klang and Tanjung Pelepas in Malaysia.
Maersk was looking at contingencies on a case-by-case basis for all its services scheduled to call at the Auckland container terminals over the next week.
The shipping company had committed the Southern Star service to Tauranga until the middle of next year, Gulik said.
The Maritime Union and Ports of Auckland have been unable to reach a resolution over their collective employment contract, which led to the Bledisloe and Fergusson container terminals being shut for four days. Another four-day stoppage is due to start on Thursday night.
Mediation between the parties is set down for 9am this Friday when the next strike will already be under way after the company pulled out of scheduled talks yesterday.
Ports of Auckland chief executive Tony Gibson was still hopeful of a resolution and said he had delayed yesterday's talks to have time to reflect on the impact of Maersk's move.
Meanwhile, Ports of Auckland and union are blaming each other for the loss of the Maersk service to Tauranga, reported The New Zealand Herald.
A senior Auckland official, Gary Swift, told the Herald that other shipping companies could follow Maersk and move to Tauranga.
Swift, who heads Auckland Council's investment arm which owns the port company, said the loss of the Maersk contract was unexpected and alarming and would have a financial effect on the port company and the council.
A forecast dividend of $18 million from the port company to the council in the 2011-2012 financial year would be down, Swift said, but he did not know by how much.
The issue has flared in the corridors of the Super City.
Mayor Len Brown is urging both sides in the industrial dispute to get back around the negotiating table and Citizens & Ratepayers leader Christine Fletcher is demanding answers to avoid significant financial consequences for ratepayers.
Brown said he was concerned about the short and long-term implications of the loss of any shipping contract for the company and council, but the real issue was coping with future growth of cargo through the three upper North Island ports of Auckland, Tauranga and Northland.
Fletcher also attacked the former Auckland Regional Council for driving the ports company into financial crisis about three years ago by pillaging'' its balance sheet for excessive transport dividends.
Former regional council chairman and Auckland councillor Mike Lee said Fletcher was making ill-informed political barracking from the sidelines.
Ports chief executive Tony Gibson and Maritime Union national president Garry Parsloe disagree over how much the industrial action was a factor in the Southern Star decision.
Gibson blamed the union for the loss of the contract, saying Maersk told him the only reason for switching the contract was the industrial action, which would lead to job losses.
Maersk have explained to us that the possibility of further industrial action has been central to their decision to shift the service to Tauranga,'' Gibson said.
Maersk Line New Zealand trade and marketing manager Dave Gulik said industrial action was a significant factor but not the only factor.
Parsloe said it was odd for Gibson to be blaming the union when he was locking staff out and keeping ships from being turned over.
There have been negotiations going on for some time about those vessels calling in to Tauranga,'' Parsloe said.
Port of Tauranga chief executive Mark Cairns said the company had been working for some time to attract a new import ship call to Tauranga, and was pleased to gain the weekly service.
Heart of the City chief executive Alex Swney said industrial action by the union was wrong but may come with a silver lining for Aucklanders.
We don't want to kick the port while it's down.
But perhaps it takes a standoff like this to really focus attention on whether or not we want more containers cluttering up our doorstep.''
