Archive for February, 2012
SOME POSITIVE NEWS ON THE PORTS OF AUCKLAND STRIKES
February 29th, 2012 | Posted under Uncategorized
We have just received this release from the Ports of Auckland that shows a bit of light regarding the strikes in Auckland, please contact us here at ICE should you have any queries.
“Good afternoon,
This morning the Maersk Aberdeen arrived and is being worked by our non-union permanent stevedores.
I was on the Pilot Boat this morning as the vessel made its way down the channel and berthed at the Fergusson Container Terminal at 6:54am. For the Port and our non- union permanent stevedores this is a significant day.
I know our customers and consumers will also be pleased to see the Port working today. The ability to service ships at Fergusson using our non-union permanent stevedores will help to minimise delays and costs to customers and consumers from MUNZ ongoing strike action.
These stevedores are highly skilled and committed to the Port. They will continue to service the ships scheduled to arrive at Fergusson over the coming weeks to keep goods moving through the Port. Container ships are also being serviced at our multi-cargo terminal, where we already have third-party stevedore companies working.
Ports of Auckland would like to thank Maersk Line and customers for their support through the strike. I met with the Lines yesterday and they re-confirmed their support for the work the Company is doing to lift our overall service and productivity. Auckland’s productivity is critical to the efficiency and cost effectiveness of the New Zealand supply chain. The benefits of positive changes we make here will flow through to all our customers.
Ports of Auckland is also encouraged by the support of other Port CEOs around New Zealand, who are very clear that ships worked in Auckland will also be worked around the Coast.
It is now critical to get this port back to full productivity as soon as possible and we want to reach a decision on the two options that are on the table to achieve this. Any solution must be sustainable over the long term.
Collective Bargaining:
On collective bargaining, we are meeting the Union on Thursday for further mediation. We see mediation at the end of this week as a real opportunity for the parties to work through each other’s positions in this bargaining. There is no change in our position on this – we have wanted to have this type of engagement with MUNZ for a long time.
Contracting Out proposal:
The Port’s right to contract out stevedoring services at the container terminal was already agreed to by MUNZ in the previous Collective Agreement.
We have held a further meeting with Union representatives this week on the contracting out proposal and we are hoping the Union will confirm the follow up to that meeting as soon as possible.
You will have heard media coverage this morning about ads on behalf of potential contractors running in media this week seeking expressions of in roles at POAL, should contracting out go ahead.
No decision has been made to contract out. Both options are on the table. Mr Parsloe has been stating that a decision to contract out has been pre-determined for several weeks. He is wrong, as the advertisement clearly states.
Any prudent business would test the market to see whether the options available are viable.
The ad is running in a variety of New Zealand media and has been listed on Trade Me since Monday. In the event that a decision was made to implement contracting out, existing staff have the option to apply for jobs with the contractor(s) and any remaining positions could be filled from within the Auckland region.
I will keep you updated on the situation. Please don’t hesitate to email me if you have any questions or concerns.
Best regards
Tony Gibson gibsont@poal.co.nz”
PORTS OF AUCKLAND STRIKE – MAERSK STRIKE SURCHARGE
February 28th, 2012 | Posted under Uncategorized
Good afternoon,
Maersk line announced on Friday an Auckland Strike Surcharge of US$80 per teu as per below. We understand that the surcharge will apply to all import and export containers on Maersk services from 2nd March 2012.
As a result of the strike actions at Ports of Auckland, Maersk Line have incurred significant extra costs across our entire service network. In order to deliver best contingency options for our customers we have until now absorbed all costs related to road and rail transport to/from alternative ports, additional bunker costs to adjust vessel speeds and meet changing berthing windows, as well as costs for empty equipment positioning and storage. We have continuously urged the disputing parties to find a solution to the present impasse, however as you will know the current strike actions have now been extended to cover a 3 week period. Unfortunately the situation has reached a level where it is no longer sustainable for Maersk Line to continue absorbing the extra costs and as a result we have decided to introduce an Auckland Strike Surcharge as follows:
- CON of US$80/TEU and US$160/FEU, effective from 02 March 2012
- FMC regulated cargo, effective from 30 March 2012
The Auckland Strike Surcharge is applicable to all dry and refrigerated export and import cargo. This includes cargo with receipt/delivery at Ports of Auckland or MetroPort for any vessel affected by a strike action. The surcharge is applicable until further notice and until such time that the disputes at Ports of Auckland have been successfully resolved and services have returned to a normal operating level.
The Maersk Auckland Strike Surcharge will appear on customer invoices as part of their Oceanfreight from date of application.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us here at ICE should you have any questions.
Kind regards
Adam Carville
MANAGING DIRECTOR
PORT STRIKE IN AUCKLAND
February 27th, 2012 | Posted under Exports, Imports, Sea Freight
Good morning everyone,
As you would have been following the strike action at the Ports of Auckland and the most recent development being the strike notice issued and now in effect for 3 weeks meaning that the container terminals at Ports Auckland are expected to be severely impacted from 24th February through to 17th March.
Obviously this is going to cause an enormous amount of disruption and will be a very fluid situation in terms of what happens with the vessels heading this way.
This leaves container Shipping Lines making contingencies for cargo scheduled to be loaded or unloaded at Auckland.
These options include;
* Working at a conventional berth at Auckland port with alternative stevedores however this requires those vessels to have their own cranes. Productivity through this system is typically slow also and not many vessels have their own equipment to be in a position to do this.
* Divert vessels to alternative ports in New Zealand to work.
* Sit at anchor in Auckland harbour to wait the strike out. (This won’t happen.)
* Leaving the Auckland cargo on board and discharge when the strike is finally over. This isn’t a viable option either.
The option to divert vessels to alternative ports is already occurring with the large Asia vessel Cap Mondego now discharging all Auckland cargo at Wellington as an example and making a variety of plans to then move these containers to Auckland.
The Shipping Lines have announced they will be charging the costs associated with moving the containers to Auckland onto the owner of the goods – being the importer/consignee.
When it is not possible for the ship to call at its ‘intended’ port for whatever reason then this situation is called ‘force majeure’ and the Shipping Lines have invoked this clause on their Bills of Lading which is the ultimate contract of carriage for the cargo. Basically this means the cost of forwarding the cargo to its intended destination if the original port can’t be called is passed to the cargo owner.
So the main issue for importers is going to be the cost and logistics involved with getting the cargo back to Auckland and this is going to be very messy and varied in the amounts and exactly how this cargo will be moved.
The Cap Mondego is a good example of what is likely to happen as numerous Shipping Lines share space on the vessel and each have a slightly different solution on offer – however in broad terms the options are;
a) Importers can take delivery of the cargo in Wellington and make their own arrangements.
b) Connect cargo through other services operated by the Shipping Line ex Wellington (i.e.: coastal shipping) back to Tauranga for railing through to Metrport in Auckland.
c) Feeding cargo up via rail direct to Auckland.
Each option has a cost associated with it and these will be advised to you as cargo arrives and the method each Shipping Line is taking at that time.
As you can imagine the coastal shipping vessels and rail services will be heavily congested.
The cheapest option will be via option b) however it’s important to note that space and delivery time through to Tauranga may be extended depending on what connections there are. With limited capacity on the rail line through to Metrport and high volumes anticipated there will be delays getting cargo up to Auckland as well.
A faster (more expensive) option is to have containers trucked or railed direct from Wellington to Auckland. There will also be a high demand on capacity in this segment and so bookings will need to be engaged promptly.
It’s important to discuss this with us before the ship berths as later changes could incur further handling costs.
For LCL cargo this will be transported as promptly as possible to Auckland for devanning but delays are inevitable. A pro-rata levy will apply to each m3 of cargo to cover the transport from the discharge port and in the case of Wellington this will be NZ$35.00 per revenue ton (plus GST).
Rumours are circulating of the strike continuing even further so we all need to plan for delayed transit times and additional costs unfortunately. As more and more cargo arrives the more the system will congest but be assured we will be doing all possible to get cargo to Auckland as quickly as possible.
We will be contacting all our of customers that have cargo impacted as vessels start to draw near and keeping you advised on a regular basis as we are advised by the various Shipping Lines of the charges that will be levied.(they differ greatly for each)
Meanwhile and most importantly if you have any immediate queries please don’t hesitate to contact us here at ICE as we are in constant contact with the Shipping Lines, ports, rail and domestic transport providers.
We really hope this situation can be resolved as quickly as possible and our main aim is to keep everyone informed and your cargo to you as soon as possible.
Yours Sincerely
Adam Carville
Managing Director
PORT STRIKE UPDATE
February 21st, 2012 | Posted under Uncategorized
| Date: | 20th February 2012 |
| To: | Our Valued Customers |
| Subject | Port Strike Update |
Good Day,
There have been some significant developments with the strikes at Ports of Auckland that we would like to update you on.
MUNZ announced an additional strike last week, taking the total strike period from 0700 Friday 24th Feb to 0700 Friday 9th March, a period of 2 weeks.
Shipping lines have been working through their contingency scenarios, trying to find the best way to manage customer container flow around the strikes.
Port Of Tauranga is one obvious solution, however we saw from the earlier strikes that they don’t have the port or rail capacity to cope with all of the volume from Auckland.
We have today received a notice from Cosco about the Cap Mondego V201S omitting Auckland and diverting to Wellington instead. This is a big Asia import vessel as the main direct service from China. Indications from the lines on this conference are that the costs associated with moving containers from Wellington to Auckland may have to be borne by the importer. At this point how this will be done, the time and cost is unknown. We will keep you posted.
Below is a summary of the vessels due to call Ports of Auckland within the strike period and the current status as we know it. It is a very fluid situation with new information coming to hand constantly, so we will update as we can.
| Vessel Name | Trades | Voyage Numbers | ETA | Notes | |
| Bahia Castillo | USA, AU | 202N | 202N | 24/02/12 05:30 | Omit AKL, calling TRG |
| Cap Mondego | Asia | 201S | 201N | 24/02/12 05:30 | Omit AKL, calling WLG |
| Valdivia | Asia | 003N | 003N | 26/02/12 05:00 | TBC |
| Kota Permasan | Asia, AU | VPM075 | VPM076 | 26/02/12 21:30 | TBC |
| ANL Binburra | USA, AU | 267S | 267S | 27/02/12 09:00 | TBC |
| Bahia Grande | USA, AU | 205S | 205S | 28/02/12 05:00 | Omit AKL, calling TRG |
| Maersk Aberdeen | Asia, EU | 1205 | 1205 | 28/02/12 21:30 | TBC |
| Spirit of Endurance | Coastal | 3345 | 3346 | 29/02/12 00:00 | Omit AKL, calling TRG |
| BC San Francisco | AU | 1206 | 1206 | 29/02/12 05:30 | TBC |
| Irenes Remedy | Asia | 224E | 224W | 29/02/12 21:30 | TBC |
| Schelde Trader | Pac Is | 1208 | 1209 | 29/02/12 21:30 | TBC |
| Cosco Yingkou | Asia | 042S | 042N | 02/03/12 05:00 | TBC |
| Cap Beaufort | EU, USA | 203N | 203N | 02/03/12 05:30 | Omit AKL, calling TRG |
| Cape Maas | USA | 846N | 846N | 03/03/12 21:30 | TBC |
| San Aurelio | Asia | ZJ060N | ZJ060N | 04/03/12 05:00 | TBC |
| ANL Benalla | AU | 1205 | 1206 | 04/03/12 19:00 | TBC |
| Itajai Express | Asia | 268S | 268S | 04/03/12 21:00 | TBC |
| Lisa Schulte | Asia, AU | 057 | 058 | 04/03/12 21:30 | TBC |
| Maersk Brani | Asia | 206S | 206S | 06/03/12 05:00 | TBC |
| Amazon River | AU | 1210 | 1211 | 06/03/12 21:00 | TBC |
It would certainly seem that this port strike situation will get worse before it gets better. We recommend that you should make allowance for delays in your import or export supply chain for the next few weeks.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us here at ICE should you have any questions.
UPDATE ON PORTS OF AUCKLAND STRIKES
February 13th, 2012 | Posted under Exports, Imports, Sea Freight
Good morning,
Just an update on the strikes at Ports of Auckland, with a significant announcement in the media yesterday.
The Maritime Union of New Zealand (MUNZ) announced yesterday a full week strike commencing from 0700 Friday 24th February until 0700 Friday 2nd of March.
This is in addition to the partial strike which is set to take place from 15th to 22nd of February. The partial strike is targeted specifically at CONLINXX operations which is a 90% owned POAL venture operating a rail hub container transport service from Wiri Inland port. This should result in minimal impact as there are many other options outside of CONLINXX which will be free to take containers in and out of the port. We will make arrangements for any affected customers.
The strike on 24th February for 1 week is the one to focus on. There are several large vessels due to arrive and depart within that week, and clearly this will cause considerable disruption to Imports and Exports via Auckland Port.
We are awaiting details from the various shipping lines on what contingency measures will be in place for Auckland cargo affected during this time. In the December strikes, several vessels diverted to Tauranga which resulted in massive congestion on the rail network from Tauranga to Auckland, some containers took up to a week to come up from Tauranga as an example.
Updates from Ports of Auckland can also be viewed at:
http://www.poal.co.nz/shipping_cargo/Industrial_Action_Update.htm
ICE will continue to work through this issue on a vessel by vessel basis and keep customers informed as best we can on shipment delays and contingency planning as the options
become available.
If you need any further information or have any questions then please do not hesitate to contact your key personnel here at ICE.
Kind Regards
Jackie McKenzie
IMPORT ACCOUNT MANAGER