Lyttelton loses Maersk service

By NZPA

Wednesday 3rd July 2002

Lyttelton port is losing its fortnightly Maersk Sealand shipping service.

The shipping line will instead provide a weekly fixed-day service to the Port of Timaru, building on the volumes of milk-based product from the nearby Clandeboye dairy factory.

The last Maersk Sealand container ship will call at Lyttelton in late August, said Craig Sain, Maersk NZ's general manager, liner services.

The two ports have shared the South-east Asian service, week about, since early 2000. Maersk started its Lyttelton service in early 1997, and it became a weekly call until Timaru joined the schedule.

Lyttelton Port Company's business development manager Philip Manson said last night that the company was unable to comment on the change.

Maersk's decision comes at a sensitive time for Lyttelton, with another big shipping line, P&O Nedlloyd, due to decide in August whether its new bigger container ships will call there or at Port Chalmers.

Lyttelton's port labour agreement, which it is trying to renegotiate with the unions, could be a factor in this decision. P&O now calls at both ports, using smaller ships.

Mr Sain said the Maersk change was based on commercial realities, with weekly calls at Timaru providing a "better fit" for the dairy company. "They're our biggest client and want a weekly service there."

However, port competitiveness and efficiency was always part of the over-all picture. Timaru has a lower cost structure than Lyttelton.

"The cargo mix from the Canterbury area does not dictate a Lyttelton loading," Mr Sain said.

Tranz Rail's container yard in Christchurch will take on added importance as a base for exports and imports from and to the North Canterbury and city areas. They will be sent by rail to and from Timaru, as already happens every second week.

Most of the imports shipped in by Maersk are bound for Christchurch. Mr Sain said they would arrive at Middleton the day after being unloaded at Timaru.

The South-east Asian service is based on a hubbing service at the Malaysian port of Tanjung Pelepas.

Maersk also operates a fortnightly Oceania service through Timaru, linking to North American markets. Timaru port chairman Alistair Betts said the port would spend another $15 million on new cranes and upgraded wharf facilities, on top of $8 million on infrastructure this year. Plans included dredging to increase the depth of the port's channel.

Neither Mr Sain nor Timaru chief executive Jeremy Boys would say what extra container volumes and value would be involved in the shift of ports. Mr Boys said the port was benefiting from growth in meat and fishing exports, as well as dairy.

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