Severe supply chain disruption in the world’s key markets has led to a joint effort among international competition authorities to investigate potential collusion.
Maritime NZ, New Zealand’s maritime authority, is seeking stakeholder comments until March 11 on draft guidelines for compliance with the International Maritime Organization’s Safety of Life at Sea verified gross mass amendment.
The fast-growing port of Tauranga has begun widening and deepening its shipping channels to handle larger vessels after a more than four-year court battle over the project.
Container volume through the ports of Auckland inched up 0.4 percent in its fiscal year ending June 30, while its rival Tauranga grew its traffic 12 percent, helping it close the gap between it and New Zealand’s largest container gateway.
By announcing a new inland port, the Ports of Auckland fired another shot in its war with the Port of Tauranga to be New Zealand’s primary container gateway. Shippers stands to gain lower costs and better connectivity no matter the victor.
Tauranga is more than half-finished with a $238 million project that will allow it to handle container ships with capacities of up 6,000 20-foot equivalent units.
Tauranga, New Zealand’s largest container gateway, has awarded a contract for dredging to Rohde Nielsen as the port seeks to deal with the cascading of larger ships on to smaller trades and maintain its position as the preeminent container port in the country.
Port Otago in the southern New Zealand town of Dunedin is to spend $30 million deepening its shipping channel and berths to accommodate container carriers of up to 8,000 TEUs.
New Zealand’s Port of Tauranga and logistics management company Kotahi will form a new joint venture to support robust export cargo volume commitments made last year and to strengthen the country’s supply chain.
Irish steak is back on the U.S. menu as the U.S. begins to lift a 15-year ban on beef imports from the European Union. U.S. containerized beef imports are rising quickly, surpassing 40 percent in most of 2014.