NZ | Ports + Infrastructure

[otumoetaiNZ]

Yup logs from gisborne could be railed to napier and then hubbed to tauranga or auckland. I think the rail line from gisborne needs quite a bit of work but itd be cheaper in the log run than having to maintain a tiny port operation.

[honeybear]

otumoetainz - this is it in a nutshell really and the dilemma that much of smaller NZ now faces. With small volumes of freight not really enough to sustain both a rail operation and a port facility and operational and maintenance costs ever increasing. You can continue to put a little bit through the port and a little bit by rail but I don't think this will work forever given the freight forcasts and population base of the area. It really has to be one or the other unless local ratepayers are prepared to look at subsidies.

Nelson had the decision made for it years ago when the rail was ripped up. Today it has one of the best regional ports in the country, good freight volumes and doing very well too I mite say.

So its probably decision time for Gisborne as realistically I don't see much changing for the region in the long term. Do you want your rail or do you want your port?

[Richard7666]

Nelson had rail?

[KiwiGuy]

Originally Posted by Richard7666

Nelson had rail?

First city in NZ to have rail I might add. The Nelson Section was an isolated section of track running from Nelson to Glenhope, with the section being closed in 1955. Since then, it's been on the government's books to link Nelson with the rest of the South Island's network, either through Inangahua or Blenheim. The Blenheim route was actually commissioned by then Prime Minister Walter Nash, meaning work was actually due to commence. Keith Holyoake campaigned to have the line work halted in 1960, which, after he won the elections, was what happened. Nothing has been done about it since.

[Richard7666]

Yet another upgrade to keep pace with demand at Bluff

A $4.5 million dry storage warehouse project will begin at South Port in the next few months to keep up with increasing demand from the agriculture sector.

At the South Port annual meeting yesterday, chief executive Mark O'Connor announced the construction of the multimillion-dollar warehouse, with the first of the two stage development, at 3000 square metres, beginning in the new year.

The port had several contracts for dry storage, which included stockfeed such as palm kernel and molasses, but dry warehousing was limited so more space was needed, he said.

"All the existing dry warehousing at the moment is fully occupied at the port," he said.

It was the growth in the agriculture sector that had prompted the expansion, while there was also an expected increase in stockfeed demand, Mr O'Connor said. "We saw some fairly strong stock import volume in the province in the past year and there is potential for this dry storage warehouse to be required for stockfeed."

The first stage, which would cost about $2.5m, would be constructed by Calder Stewart and was expected to be completed by June, while the second stage was expected to double the size and would be reviewed in about 12 months to make sure it was still viable, he said.

The Bluff-based company's performance figures for the financial year ending June 30 were released last month and showed cargo movements on the island harbour hit a record of 2.64 million tonnes, up 470,000 tonnes on last year. This resulted in a normalised profit of $5.98m, up $770,000.

Primary industries remained the key to the port's growth, with log volumes exceeding 300,000 tonnes last financial year, a substantial lift from about 100,000 tonnes two years previously, Mr O'Connor said yesterday.

South Port outgoing chairman John Harrington, who stepped down from the board of directors following the meeting, said New Zealand Aluminium Smelters was still the most vital client of the port, especially because there was no guarantee shipping lines would continue.

The company's target profit for the 2012 year was between $5m to $5.3m, he said. This reflected the effect on trade from continuing global economic uncertainty and represented a 10 to 15 per cent reduction for the 2012 financial year.

[otumoetaiNZ]

Fantastic news for tauranga!

Maersk blames strikes, pulls one Auckland service

The possibility of further strikes at Ports of Auckland has forced major shipping line Maersk to shift one of its services to the Port of Tauranga, leaving the Auckland port company $20 million out of pocket.

Maersk told the port early this morning that it had shifted its Southern Star service to Tauranga.
Ports of Auckland chief executive Tony Gibson said he was ''hugely disappointed''.

''Maersk have explained to us that the possibility of further industrial unrest has been central to their decision to shift the service to Tauranga.''

The port company will lose 52 ship calls, 82,500 containers, and nearly $20m in revenue annually.

Gibson said the port had postponed today's mediation with the Maritime Union of New Zealand as a result of the move.

The port's Bledisloe and Fergusson container terminals were shut from Thursday night to Monday night, in a four-day stoppage by 330 wharfies over their collective contract. Another strike by workers and lockout by the company is planned later this week.

Gibson said his worst fears had been realised.

''We had already warned the union that their strike action, during one of the busiest times in the shipping schedule, could cost Ports of Auckland a major customer and threaten jobs.

''However, despite these warnings, a very fair offer on the table and a further offer of a paid stop work meeting, the union proceeded with its strike over last weekend, has already given notice of another strike this Friday, and is continuing to signal the possibility of further strikes, saying publicly it will do 'whatever it takes'.

''Given the magnitude of this service loss we have decided to postpone mediation till later in the week,'' Gibson said.

''We need time to work through the implications of the change in relation to the collective bargaining process.''

Gibson reiterated his call for the union to lift the strike notice it has in place for this coming Friday.

''Further strikes will achieve nothing other than to put jobs at Ports of Auckland at risk and undermine the country's supply chain at a critical time of the year.''

Maersk Line New Zealand trade and marketing manager Dave Gulik confrimed industrial unrest at Ports of Auckland had played a part in Maersk's decision to alter the service.

"The security of their supply chain is of primary importance to our customers, so anything affecting that, or likely to affect that in the future, will come into the equation when we are deciding schedules," he said.

He didn't expect a material change to total transit times for local exporters and importers.
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"Most of the export cargoes we currently ship out of Auckland are coming out of the Waikato-Bay of Plenty region, and those exporters' transport and logistics operations tend to be port-neutral," Gulik said.

The company's Northern Star service would continue to call at Auckland.

Maersk currently operates the Northern Star and Southern Star services in conjunction with Malaysian Line MISC Berhad, which plans to exit the container shipping business in June next year.

Meanwhile, Port of Tauranga chief executive Mark Cairns said Maersk's decision was great news for his port.

''We have been working for some time to attract a new import ship call to Tauranga to better
balance our MetroPort rail shuttle service to and from Auckland.

''We are very pleased to confirm the announcement by Maersk Line and MISC who will now operate both their Northern and Southern Star services through Tauranga on a weekly basis, with connections through to their South East Asian hubs.''

The service loss is effective from this week's vessel, the Euro Max voyage 126N, which will now call at Tauranga on Saturday, December 10.

- BusinessDay.co.nz

[DML2]

Idiots are shooting themselves in their footses

[otumoetaiNZ]

More money for the port of tauranga though so im not complaining! I reckon Hamilton will do pretty nicely as well with their inland port hub idea. The export opportunities for businesses in the region is just fantastic!

[otumoetaiNZ]

Another massive win for Tauranga!

Fonterra quits Ports of Auckland amid strikes

Dairy giant Fonterra, the country's biggest exporter, has quit trading from Ports of Auckland as strikes by Maritime Union member workers continue.

Port of Tauranga and Port of Napier will share the load, picking up Fonterra's $27 million weekly trading, from the end of January until further notice.

Union member Ports of Auckland workers have been in negotiations with their employer for better pay since August, with major client Maersk pulling out of the port to move its trading to Tauranga last month due to the industrial action at Auckland.

Ports of Auckland chief executive Tony Gibson said it was inevitable customers would need to move operations elsewhere with uncertainty caused by the strike action. It recently put its ninth offer to the union which remains on the table.

''Following Fonterra's decision, I have today advised the union that this is our best and final offer.

''It includes a generous 10 per cent rise on hourly rates, performance bonuses of up to 20 per cent on hourly rates, and the retention of existing benefits and entitlements in return for a new roster system that will provide increased operational flexibility while allowing workers to plan their rosters a month in advance,'' Gibson said.

''Coupled with the departure of Maersk's Southern Star service to Port of Tauranga, the loss of Fonterra's business means that action is needed urgently.''

Fonterra and the Maritime Union were not immediately available for comment.

[KiwiRob]

Tony needs to start firing people, these bums work less than 30 hours are week and are making 90K plus, these are unskilled workers, they should be bloody happy with what they've got, I pretty sure there are plenty of men out there who would do the job for 50K.

[honeybear]

I couldn't agree more - this is like a return to the 1970's where unions hold companies to ransom. Why is this allowed to happen in this day and age? This is supposed to be a "free market". Every employee has the right to ask for better conditions/more pay from their employer. If they say no, then they have the choice to continue working for them or look for work elsewhere. That is what the rest of us have to do! Get back to work you greedy workers or let the sackings begin!

[GI_Joint]

The average annual wage of an Auckland wharfie is about $91,480 - reportedly for a 26-hour week, employees and their families get free medical insurance, and three weeks sick leave entitlement is written into contracts. They also get five weeks annual leave.

God damn, why are they complaining again??

[otumoetaiNZ]

Originally Posted by GI_Joint

God damn, why are they complaining again??

Seems like theyre on a pretty good wage already eh! I went past there a couple of days ago and they had their kids holding the placards while they sat in deckchairs talking LOL! Not a good look!

[KiwiRob]

I don't think they have much if any support either, especially now that we know what they are already earning and how little they work to get it.

[Andymanc]

Would this see an end to the Port of Auckland which could then be transformed into a new Cruise Ship Terminal? plus prime land for Apartments? thus opening up the whole of Aucklands Waterfront along Quay Street with a tram running along ... ??

[IThomas]

Air, seaports would benefit from stock exchange listing, says report.

Listing large council-owned seaports and airports on the stock exchange would put added pressure on these assets to lift their game, says the Productivity Commission. In a 278-page draft report released yesterday on freight and transport, it said a stock market listing would offer "significant potential governance improvements for larger companies" with a partial-council ownership. Listed entities are "subject to strong, and ongoing, scrutiny and pressure for improvement" and have a share price that reacts to market conditions, the perceived quality of directors and any plans they announce, it said. "Stock exchange rules such as those requiring regular reporting and continuous disclosure can expose poorly-performing managers, and pressure from minority shareholders and external analysts can spur the timely rectification of such problems." Four seaports - Port of Tauranga, South Port New Zealand, Northland Port and Lyttelton Port - are already on the New Zealand stock exchange. Auckland Airport is also listed as is Infratil - the company which owns two-thirds of Wellington Airport. Christchurch Airport, owned by the Christchurch City Council and the Crown, is not listed, while Ports of Auckland delisted in 2005. The commission also said a degree of private ownership, particularly of New Zealand ports, could improve their efficiency. Privately-owned companies tended to out-perform their publicly-owned counterparts, the report said, although they are not the best at delivering some services valued by the community. "We know that privatisation 'works' in the sense that divested firms ... become more efficient, more profitable, and financially healthier, and increase their capital investment spending," the report said, quoting an international study. Although five New Zealand ports have some degree of private ownership, the draft report included submissions from the Shippers' Council and Federated Farmers advocating increased levels of privatisation. "It is perhaps no coincidence that New Zealand's best performing port [Port of Tauranga] is also the port with the highest proportion of private ownership," Federated Farmers said. The commission also cited an argument from Auckland Council - which owns 100 per cent of Ports of Auckland - claiming "public ownership with commercially focused boards" was an efficient operating model for ports. Despite this, the commission said the argument that higher levels of private ownership increased performance was "generally convincing". The commission said that although government ownership of rail offered "poor incentives to improve efficiency", past performance suggests the infrastructure does not pay its way under any ownership structure. The commission's final report is due out in April.

Here the draft report.

[NZ1]

http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/loca...rfront-dispute

Since the long-running and bitter industrial fight between the port and the union began in November last year, straddle driver Nelly Vaoesea said he had been bullied and called a "scab" at work by union members.

"It got to the point where if you walked past them, they'd shoulder charge you," he said.

Union workers had thrown eggs at his car, sworn at him, and threatened him with physical violence, he said.

Maritime Union president Garry Parsloe said he did not know about bullying of non-union workers or condone it, and he found it "hard to believe" it was happening.

He challenged the port to produce evidence of this sort of behaviour from its extensive surveillance operations.

He accused Vaoesea of being "the bosses' little pet".

This was quite interesting to read, and I think speaks volumes about how petty this dispute has become. Garry Parsloe shows his true colours (IMO) as a workplace bully with statements like that. Someone in the position should not be engaging in these types of petty childish tactics.

[IThomas]

Auckland port expansion on hold

The Auckland Council has put the brakes on further expansion of the Auckland port into the Waitemata Harbour but stopped short of putting a permanent end to the expansion. The decision was made in a Council meeting this morning. It had planned to extend the port 250m into the prized harbour. The Port Development Plan proposed the larger site to cope with a 400 per cent increase in traffic before 2055. Today the Council voted to undertake an extensive review of the role of Ports of Auckland before deciding on whether to support further expansion into the harbour. Councillors voted down an amendment from councillor Mike Lee not to support any further expansion beyond the reclamation already consented for. The port plan had come under widespread attack, including from Auckland Central MP Nikki Kaye, who accused the Council of prematurely giving the all-clear to the expansion. She said the draft Auckland Plan appeared to set in stone the upgrade of the port, whose owners have proposed a long-term expansion from 77ha to 95ha. In a letter to Mayor Len Brown the National Party representative urged the council to acknowledge the full process of the expansion, including public consultation. The Auckland Council has instructed the port company to double its dividend from a six per cent rate of return to 12 per cent over five years.

VIDEO

[NZ1]

Coal exporter in for long haul
JOHN ANTHONY

For the next three decades Port Taranaki is poised to export about 125 million tonnes of the highest quality coal on the market.

The extra cargo, courtesy of new port customer Bathurst Resources, will see increased jobs at the port, investment in infrastructure and the potential for new customers to follow.

Australia-born company Bathurst Resources arrived in New Zealand three years ago to mine for coal in the South Island.

Its flagship operation, the Buller Coking Coal Project, could see an estimated 167 million tonnes of coking coal extracted from the Denniston Plateau and North Buller - an area which has been mined for nearly 100 years.

Bathurst managing director Hamish Bohannan estimates there's enough coal for 35 years of production.

About 75 per cent of the coal would be shipped to Taranaki and stockpiled in a new $1.5 million storage shed before being exported to Japan, Korea and China.

An agreement between Bathurst and Solid Energy will see the remaining 25 per cent transported by rail to Lyttelton Port.

Port Taranaki was banking on a similar deal in November 2007 when Pike River Coal agreed to ship its coal from the Port of Greymouth to Port Taranaki.

Pike River Coal reneged on the contract and instead decided to rail the coal to Lyttelton.

The contract would have been worth as much as $80m to the port and was one of the reasons it spent more than $20m to deepen the harbour to accommodate larger ships.

In 2010, Port Taranaki chief executive Roy Weaver said the volumes discussed with Bathurst were similar to what Pike River reneged on and would increase shipping at the port by as much as 25 per cent.

Bathurst recently invested $1.5m in Port Taranaki with the first outlay of a three-stage development project.

Coal handling facilities already exist at the port so all that was needed to begin with was the construction of a large shed.

"Taranaki has got fantastic facilities that are under-utilised," Mr Bohannan said.

Since December last year Bathurst has been shipping coking coal from Westport to Taranaki three times a week on a small 700 tonne vessel.

"It's rats and mice for the first six to eight months," Mr Bohannan said.

As coal production increases so too will the investment in Taranaki, he said.

Phase two would see the coal storage area increased as shipping movements double to six weekly.

Phase three would see even more coal and sophisticated loading systems installed.

"Stage three takes it to the next level and that needs Escarpment," Mr Bohannan said.

Escarpment is a coal seam on the Denniston Plateau which has been granted resource consent but is being held up in the Environment Court by an appeal lodged by anti-mining groups such as Forest and Bird.

Bathurst, which leases the land off the Conservation Department, is confident it will be successful in the defending the appeal, Mr Bohannan said.

If production gets under way at Escarpment the vessels sailing from Westport to Taranaki would increase in size to 1000 tonnes.

Coal stockpiled at Port Taranaki would then get exported on 30,000 to 60,000 tonne vessels.

Mr Weaver said having a customer like Bathurst using the port and investing in coal handling facilities opened up the possibility of attracting more coal producers to Port Taranaki.

"What it means is potential.

"Often when you have specialised facilities in place there's opportunity for others to use them," Mr Weaver said.

There were a number of large North Island coal deposits which, if mined, could use Port Taranaki as an export gateway, he said.

Bathurst may consider investing money into dredging the port further so even larger ships could enter, he said.

Handling coal was labour intensive so a number of stevedore jobs would be created from the deal but it was too early to say how many.

As at June 2011, Bathurst's annual report showed it had nearly $90m cash on hand, leaving it well funded for development activities. "It adds a lot of credibility to what they're trying to do," Mr Weaver said.

Bathurst is also spending $30m to upgrade facilities at Westport, including a new storage shed and conveyer belt.

Bathurst is listed on both the ASX and NZX and plans to be in New Zealand long-term, Mr Bohannan said.

"We aim to be a permanent fixture on the New Zealand landscape.

"We're proud of what we do and we're part of the community here.

"Our goal is to be a significant mining company along with Solid Energy," he said.

Bathurst currently employs nearly 100 staff but if Escarpment gets the green light nearly 300 additional West Coast jobs would be created.

- © Fairfax NZ News

[seaphorm]

Originally Posted by NZ1

http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/loca...rfront-dispute

Since the long-running and bitter industrial fight between the port and the union began in November last year, straddle driver Nelly Vaoesea said he had been bullied and called a "scab" at work by union members.

"It got to the point where if you walked past them, they'd shoulder charge you," he said.

Union workers had thrown eggs at his car, sworn at him, and threatened him with physical violence, he said.

Maritime Union president Garry Parsloe said he did not know about bullying of non-union workers or condone it, and he found it "hard to believe" it was happening.

He challenged the port to produce evidence of this sort of behaviour from its extensive surveillance operations.

He accused Vaoesea of being "the bosses' little pet".

This was quite interesting to read, and I think speaks volumes about how petty this dispute has become. Garry Parsloe shows his true colours (IMO) as a workplace bully with statements like that. Someone in the position should not be engaging in these types of petty childish tactics.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/indu...made-redundant

one step further... looks to me like this is a win for the ports... they get to casualise their work force which they wanted all along.

the real question is whether the unions have any comeback... there's rumours that union workers in australia and the united states may refuse to work on ships destined for auckland.

looks to me like we all suffer in the long term...