Two of the operators — Skeggs Group and Real Group — share majority ownership of a Milford infrastructure company called Milford Sound Tourism (MST) that collects a levy from tourists boarding cruises, regardless of the operator.
MST, which was originally set up in 1990 as a development agency for public benefit, has been criticised by tourist operators for letting infrastructure decay yet has paid dividends, believed to amount to millions of dollars, to its shareholders.
In January, Conservation Minister Tama Potaka granted MST a concession to continue running Milford infrastructure, including the ferry visitor terminal, until 2050, but subject to negotiated conditions expected to be announced tomorrow by the Department of Conservation.
In anticipation of the announcement, three other Milford cruise boat operators who do not have shares in MST have banded together to form an advocacy group — Milford Sound Independent Cruise Operators (Mico).
Its members are Pure Milford, Cruise Milford and Mitre Peak Cruises.
Pure Milford and Cruise Milford are owned by Chris Alpe and Steve Lockwood, respectively.
The operators wrote to Doc earlier this week saying they should ‘‘not have to tolerate being unfairly and unlawfully exploited by Milford Sound Tourism’s monopolistic charges and discriminatory conduct for another 25 years’’.
In the letter they claimed MST had ‘‘stonewalled’’ efforts by the operators to resolve issues, while Doc had ‘‘stood by and done nothing’’.
There had been a rise in MST levies over the years, yet the assets had ‘‘deteriorated significantly’’.
‘‘There is no formula for the charge. They are not accountable to anybody for those charges — Doc or anybody.’’
Mitre Peak Cruises director Mark Quickfall said he ‘‘strongly objected’’ to the current requirement put upon Mico members to be a ‘‘collection agency’’ for MST, describing the infrastructure firm as a ‘‘private entity over which we have no control’’.
He said there were question marks over whether the arrangement was even legal. The group did not ‘‘see it as appropriate to continue with this model’’.
There was now an ‘‘opportunity’’ for everyone to work together to get the model right, but if concerns were not addressed, the options would be to ‘‘go back to Doc, the courts or the Commerce Commission’’, he said.
Mico was ‘‘more than happy to pay reasonable charges for the use of infrastructure, but we don’t think it is appropriate now for us to collect a levy that we have no visibility, or input, into and that is then used at the pleasure of Milford Sound Tourism’’.
There should be ‘‘no private profit extraction from charges collected in the context of a Crown-conferred monopoly over a national park asset’’.
The levy had risen from $12.50 in October 2024 to $15, including $4.01 that goes to Doc.
It was then dropped to $13.50 in 2025 when MST was seeking to renew its concession.
However, Mico refused to acknowledge the 2024 increase and has continued to pay $12.50.
A month before MST’s concession was re-granted, a third shareholder — Southland District Council, which holds a 2% share — was swapped out for Ngāi Tahu, which took up a 33% share.
A complaint to the Commerce Commission by the independent boat operators about MST had been shelved by the commission while the Doc-led process of awarding the concession and considering conditions was undertaken.
Doc, which is also considering a proposal for an international visitor charge to visit Milford Sound, said it was ‘‘not possible or appropriate for Doc to comment’’ on issues regarding MST.
Setting concession terms and conditions was ‘‘not a public process’’.
MST chief executive Haylee Preston said her firm was ‘‘currently engaged in ongoing discussions with the cruise operators and Doc regarding the terms and conditions’’. It was ‘‘too early to provide any further detail in relation to the matters raised’’.
