Ports of Auckland nabs service from Tauranga
Auckland Council-controlled port company announces the return of a loop service to South-East Asia.
UPDATE / 11.45am:
Ports of Auckland has confirmed the Southern Star service will return next year.
In a press release, chief executive Tony Gibson says: “This new service, with bigger ships and larger exchanges of containers cements our position as the import port of choice.
"It also requires increased productivity from us, something our work over the last year has shown we can deliver – and there is potential for more.”
Monday, 6pm:
Maersk Line's Southern Star service is returning to Auckland.
Auckland Council-controlled Ports of Auckland, which is mired in a union dispute, lost Southern Star to listed Port of Tauranga in December 2011.
But it is understood Ports of Auckland will announce tomorrow the service will return to Auckland from July, with bigger ships.
Southern Star is one arm of a weekly loop service connecting Malaysia, Singapore and New Zealand ports.
Auckland will be bypassed by the other arm of the weekly loop service, Maersk's Northern Star service.
The net gain to Auckland is about 20,000 twenty-foot equivalent (TEU) containers.
Nevertheless, Auckland snatching back Southern Star turns up the heat in its battle with Tauranga, as Auckland lifts productivity as it gets closer to resolving its dispute with the Maritime Union.
Ports of Auckland handled 808,654 TEU containers in the year to June 30, 2012, a drop of 9.6% on the previous year.
NBR Online staff
Tue, 28 May 2013
Tue, 28 May 2013
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Ports of Auckland nabs service from Tauranga
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