Port Otago has secured a new international service, ahead of other South Island ports, bringing more cargo and work to Port Chalmers.
Shipping companies Maersk and Hamburg Sud announced this week the formation of a new shipping service linking Australia and New Zealand to the United States and Europe.
Maersk Oceania marketing manager Scot Taylor, of Sydney, said Port Chalmers won the work ahead of other South Island ports because it had the right mix of draught restrictions, good trade lengths and crane operations.
The service, which would also call at Tauranga and Auckland, would start at the end of May.
The shipping companies would each provide six ships. Each ship would have a capacity of 2800 20-foot container equivalent units. Ships would call weekly.
Port Otago chief executive Geoff Plunket said it was excellent news for the port.
Though it was too early to say what economic benefit the new service would bring to the port, it would mean more work for staff and more cargo being shifted through the port.
The service will continue to provide the only weekly direct sailings to and from the east coast of the United States, but will no longer call at as many ports in New Zealand or Australia.
A new transtasman service, the Southern Star Express, will instead pick up cargo from ports such as Timaru and Lyttelton and take it to Port Chalmers to be loaded for the United States route.
Hamburg Sud used to call at Timaru weekly but will discontinue that service.
Mr Taylor said the new service came about because of rising costs.
‘‘The service we had set up was not sustainable. With the price of fuel coming up and other costs escalating, we had to have a real good look at it,'' he said.
‘‘We need to have 80% cargo loads on ships and during some periods we had only up to 60% full on some ships. That would change throughout the year, but this is all about looking forward. We need to be carrying cargo, not air.''
Mr Plunket said Port Otago had a good package it could present to shipping companies in terms of water depth, good volume of cargo, cranes, and a talented and reliable workforce.
The same number of ships would call at the port, but more cargo would be moved through it, he said.
The port employs 290 people, up from 125 employees 10 years ago, and moves 200,000 20-foot equivalent units annually, compared with 35,000 units 10 years ago.
