We have received the below notification from Hamburg SUD which is good news :

“Asia to New Zealand Trade

Suspension of Strike Surcharge

Dear Customer,

Please be informed that the Strike Surcharge currently applying for New Zealand imports from Asia will be suspended, effective from COSCO Fuzhou 050S,following a suspension of the disruption in terminal service this month.

We will continue to monitor the port performance and keep you informed of further developments.”

Please contact us here at ICE if you have any queries.

Shipping lines on the South bound trade from North and South East Asia have notified a rate restoration of US$300 per TEU effective 15^th April.

The current situation is that the lines have implemented the advised rate restoration and are in fact holding fairly firm on restoring rates at this time.  We are working this through with the lines and while the quantum may vary across services, the signal is definitely that the market has changed as lines continue to lose money on unsustainable rates.

We therefore must notify you that ICE will apply a General Rate Increase on our LCL services from South East Asia, Sub-continent, Korea, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan to New Zealand effective 1^st May 2012.

LCL Rate Restoration                      US$5.00 per w/m            Effective 1^st May 2012

If you have any questions or if we can assist further please don’t hesitate to contact us here at ICE.

The shipping lines have issued notices to the trade of a South Bound Rate Restoration from South East Asia, Korea, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan to New Zealand effective 15^th April 2012 as below.

Southbound Rate Restoration applicable to all cargo loaded on or after 15^th April 2012

20’ GP                    USD300

40’ GP & HC             USD600

On this basis ICE will apply a Rate Restoration to LCL cargo as below:

LCL                        USD12 w/m

The shipping lines applying this rate restoration include: Maersk, CMA-CGM, Cosco, OOCL, NYK, MOL, PIL, Hamburg Sud, Hapag Lloyd.

Shipping lines on this trade are advising that rates have fallen below sustainable levels and must implement these Rate Restorations to maintain current service levels to the New Zealand market.

Certainly on the global scene we are seeing evidence of this with container lines reporting combined losses of over US$6 billion in 2011, most of them are operating in the red.  As a result capacity is being slashed on key trades and rates have doubled in recent months on Asia to Europe trade for example.  Closer to NZ, Asia to Australia trade has also cut capacity and is aggressively implementing rate restorations right now.

At this stage we are monitoring this advised increase and will advise of any changes if they occur.

If you have any questions or if we can assist further please contact us directly at ICE.

We have received notification from Hamburg SUD as below regarding a Lift On/Lift Off Surcharge :

Introduction of Lift Off/Lift On Surcharge

“Dear Customer,

We wish to advise that effective 1 April, 2012 we will be introducing a Lift On-Lift Off (LoLo) charge. This is in response to a steady increase in charges by container depots over the last few years.

The charge will be NZD 19 per 20’ and NZD 29 per 40’ container, for both import and export containers.”

Please contact us here at ICE should you have any queries.

“On Friday afternoon, Ports of Auckland announced they had cancelled the lock out due to start on 6^th April and they will return to the bargaining table with MUNZ.   The Port would appear to be committed to changing the work practises that exist and will go back to the Employment courts on 16^th May to pursue this.  In the meantime they have lifted the lock out to get goods moving again which is good news.

We understand that the Port is in the process of addressing the roster and health and safety concerns around the MUNZ workers returning to the Port and they will be back by Friday 6^th April at the latest.  The first vessel that is due to be worked under MUNZ labour at the Port is Cap Mondego V202S this Friday.  This is one of the large vessels from North Asia which has been getting diverted to Wellington in recent weeks so will be very good news for importers and exporters.

With the lock out lifted and MUNZ workers returning to work, the Port should get back to full capacity quite quickly and we should see the end of vessels being diverted for now.  There are still back logs of containers at Ports around the country, so it will take some time for this to clear and container shipping to get back to normal – nice to have some hope that it will finally end.

As usual, we will keep you updated on your shipments on a vessel by vessel basis and please don’t hesitate to contact us here at ICE should you have any questions.

ICE would like to update you on some of the latest developments in the Ports Of Auckland strike situation.

Industrial Relations

Ports of Auckland, CEO Tony Gibson issued a statement on Wednesday 28^th March.  Some key points are:

• The Port is currently handling approx 40-50% of normal volume with non union labour
• They are currently in a 4 week mediation process and the court hearing on the move to competitive stevedoring is set for 16^th May 2012.
• The lock out takes effect from 6^th April, but in meantime Port is not allowing MUNZ workers back due health & safety reasons and has offered to pay them in this period.

There is a lot of reporting in the media and both parties are back in court today and we will await the outcome of this.

Emergency Port Congestion Surcharges

The shipping lines have been working hard to keep the vessels moving and a variety of plans have been in place with vessels calling other ports and discharging cargoes and so on.

In the past few days most of the lines have started to announce Emergency Port Congestion Surcharges on import containers.

Maersk announced an Auckland Strike Surcharge on 2^nd March of US$80/teu applicable to Ports of Auckland and Metro Port Auckland only.  On 28^th March they announced that this will increase to US$130/teu from 9^th April.

We have now seen announcements from many other shipping lines and can summarise the current known surcharges as below which will passed on to our customers at cost.

• It is important to note that these surcharges apply in most cases to all containers coming into New Zealand- regardless of the final destination.

For LCL Import cargo the Emergency Strike Surcharge is US$3.00 per w/m effective from 1^st April 2012.

Port Diversion & delays

With shipping lines unable to get berths at Auckland they have been diverting to other ports such as Tauranga, Wellington, Lyttelton and Napier.  In many cases the lines have made arrangements to move containers on a combination of Coastal and Rail services and applied surcharges at varying levels. (For example containers on ships diverted to Wellington have been moved on coastal vessels to Tauranga and railed through to Auckland metro port).

As ports have become more and more congested and coastal vessels full, the lines are not always able to offer these options and cargo is being discharged at the port the vessel was diverted to (eg Wellington)  without options being offered.

In this case we will offer our customers rail or truck options to Auckland.

For vessels that are diverting into Wellington and the Shipping Line offers to bring the containers to Auckland then this is via coastal vessel to Tauranga and then rail into Auckland. However the timeframes involved in this move are open and we would be suggesting allowing 14 days for this to happen with the pressure on coastal shipping and also the rail up from Tauranga.

Most of the big direct China vessels (NYK, Hamburg, Cosco, and MOL service) have been diverted to Wellington to date – they are carrying a large portion of import cargo from the China and North Asia region.

So there are 3 options available as these being:

1. Lowest cost – Coastal / Rail option with shipping line if available.  Transit approx 2 weeks
2. Medium cost – Rail from Wellington to Auckland.  Transit approx 6-7 days
3. Highest cost – Truck from Wellington to Auckland. Transit approx. 2-3 days

Per our notice on the 27^th February, for LCL cargo diverted via Wellington the charge incurred is NZ$35 per w/m (+GST) as a Strike On Carriage Surcharge.

For vessels that are diverted to Tauranga and put on rail by the Shipping Lines to Auckland to date there has been no surcharges announced. (however please keep in mind to allow at least 7 days for containers to be railed due to congestion)

Decide what you are doing before vessel arrives

What is becoming important is that the decision on which mode of transport is to be used from the discharge port to Auckland is made at least 24 hours prior to vessel arrival-especially if you are looking to speed the delivery into Auckland and utilise rail or road.

In Tauranga for example the port is so congested that if we want to pull a container out of the stack after vessel discharge and truck to Auckland, it can take several days to do this if it is buried.  Port of Tauranga will charge a Container Shifting charge of approx $47 per container they need to move to get to your container. They may have to move 6 containers (so $47 x 6) for example.

The shipping line may also charge a Change of Destination fee of approx US$250 per B/L if change is made after arrival and some Shipping Lines are asking for 24 hours’ notice to amend manifests and other documentation.

Our staff are very aware of all the options and we have costs utilising all the options available to you.

Trucking delays in Auckland

As mentioned earlier in this notice, Ports of Auckland are operating at approximately 40-50% of normal volumes right now with limited staff.   This week there were 7 vessels unloaded at either Fergusson terminal or the multi-cargo berth.

With limited staff however, the pressure point has become loading of containers onto trucks and trucking companies are reporting waiting times of up to 6 hours to pick up containers and incurring costs of up to 3 times their revenue.

Ports of Auckland is the worst right now, but there has been substantial delay at Metro Port as well and the back logs are building and it can take several days to get a container uplifted from either.

With trucking companies taking up to 6 hours to do a job that would normally take 30 minutes, they are looking to recover costs as the cannot sustain the costs associated.  There is some discussion of trucking companies introducing a surcharge like the Shipping Lines, but so far the main cost impact has been waiting time charges.

This will vary amongst the trucking companies, but as an indication we have had charges of $85 per hour waiting time come through so far.

To summarise

Our intention with this message is to help you with an update on the situation and a complete picture as possible to help you with your planning of ordering and costs as we settle into what looks to be a lengthy period of disruption.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us here at ICE should you have any questions.

The space situation ex Europe for Full Containers has become very tight at short notice. We deal with all major shipping lines that service NZ and some are more affected than others. Some countries are also worse than others.

Some current Hotspots are:

Italy – Space and equipment has become critical in Italy and we’d advise planning ahead as much as possible. If you have anything urgent please contact us to discuss the best option right now. There are many ports in Italy and we need to work through the best way to service each one while the issues are resolved.

The stand down period to get bookings is up to 3 weeks from some European ports right now so if you have anything urgent, please book ahead as much as possible.

For background, the Asia Europe trade has seen a major restructure in recent weeks, as shipping lines seek to reduce the severe losses they have been making this past 12 months.  Maersk have reduced capacity on this trade by 9% and the “Grand Alliance” (made up of NYK, OOCL and MOL) are in the process of restructuring their EU – Asia services and merging two services into one.  This will end up reducing capacity overall and has created some real pressure points while services are being realigned.

We urge you to consider these factors in your planning and review your lead times from Europe.

As a major consolidator of direct LCL containers from European ports, Oceanbridge always supports the strongest carriers servicing the region to maintain our high levels of service integrity.

We are monitoring the situation on a daily basis and will keep you updated with new information as it becomes available.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us here at ICE should you have any questions.

Kind regards

Jackie McKenzie

Import Account Manager

We have just received the below release from NYK regarding an immediate surcharge due to the strikes at Ports of Auckland :

“NOTICE TO CUSTOMERS
We wish to advise the following.

The labour dispute in Auckland, between the Maritime Union of New Zealand (MUNZ) and the
Ports of Auckland (POAL) remains unresolved and has resulted in an ongoing industrial action at the
ports container terminal. Shipping lines have had to seek alternative arrangements with vessels to
ensure cargo reaches the final destination in a timely manner.

NYK Line has diverted vessels to other ports (e.g. Wellington, Lyttelton), transferred cargo to other
vessels bound for Tauranga and changed the port rotation to fall outside of strike periods and other
measures to maintain a service to our customers into New Zealand.

The continued strike shows no sign of an early return to normal operations. This is creating an
adverse effect upon our operations and is adding costs that we can no longer absorb in the current
market.

Please be advised that we will be implementing an Emergency Strike Surcharge (ESS) of USD60/teu
with immediate effect payable by the consignee and applicable to all import cargo.

The ESS will be in addition to any recovery (TEX surcharge) applicable and advised on a vessel /
voyage basis which covers the direct cost relating to the movement of the import container from the
port of discharge to the final destination.

Effective vessels
Kota Permasan 077s
HS Berlioz 030s”

If you have any queries, please contact your representative here at ICE.

“The ongoing industrial action at Ports of Auckland is placing enormous pressure on

almost every aspect of the supply chain. While Ports of Auckland only provide an

import service with their limited Terminal operation, it is creating serious problems

for exporters trying to move cargo overseas and shipping lines wishing to repatriate

empty containers.

We are endeavouring to cater for the needs of shipping lines, exporters and

importers impacted by the Auckland action . In the first three weeks of Auckland’s

industrial problems, the Port of Tauranga has only handled three vessels that have

by-passed Auckland. The uplift in volume is coming from existing customers,

significantly increasing their vessel exchanges through the Tauranga Container

Terminal. This is affecting truck turn-times at MetroPort, creating congestion at both

MetroPort and the Tauranga Container Terminal and extending the vessel schedules

as our productivity reduces.

Our “can do” attitude has truly been tested. We have reached saturation point.

What is the current impact on our operation?

To put the current position in context, here are some facts.

1. Last week, the Tauranga Container Terminal (TCT) handled a record 20,200 TEU

compared to 11,000 – 13,000 TEU that would be a normal weekly throughput at this

time of the year.

2. Average productivity dropped last week to 30.3 moves per crane, down from our

normal 35.5 plus moves per hour, on the basis of the waterline standard adapted by

the Ministry of Transport. This was due to limits on yard space, labour supply and

cancellation of trains carrying export containers from MetroPort.

3. MetroPort averaged 160% yard utilization, peaking at 220%.

4. Truck turn-times at both MetroPort and TCT have extended considerably.

5. Reefer containers on power peaked at almost 1600. There are 1400 power plugs at

TCT. The overflow was placed on generators.

What we are doing

A number of actions have been taken to alleviate the pressure, including:

1. From Monday 19 March, a special train has been organized from Wiri to Mount

Maunganui to take the majority of Fonterra product currently moving through

MetroPort.

2. Tapper Transport has suspended their rail operation from Southdown and the land

and equipment has been integrated into the MetroPort operation on a temporary

basis.

3. We have stopped the movement of empty containers via MetroPort for delivery to

Tauranga, except by arrangement. Because Ports of Auckland have restricted their

current Terminal operation to imports only, empty container supply that would

normally move coastally is now being severely restricted.

4. Staff members are being increased at MetroPort and in the Terminal.

5. Reefer plugs at Mount Maunganui are now being used to supplement the TCT

capacity and further power generators are being deployed as necessary.

6. As vessel move counts have increased significantly, maintaining normal proforma

berth windows is no longer possible. Shipping lines have been requested to seek

approval for transship requirements before loading for Tauranga. This pre-advice is

to ensure we can accommodate the additional volume in the yard at TCT.

Until the position changes, we are not accepting any further vessels wishing to bypass

Auckland while we endeavour to restore productivity levels to existing services

already committed to scheduled calls at Tauranga.

We need to do more and from Monday 19 March 2012, we will also be

implementing the following measures.

Exports MetroPort

Receival of containers will be restricted to seven (7) days prior to the nominated

vessel arrival

Exports TCT

Receival of containers will be restricted to five (5) days prior to the nominated vessel

arrival.

Please note: these measures will be strictly enforced.

Imports MetroPort

Import trains will be reduced from six (6) trains per day to five (5) – i.e.: 530 TEU per

day. This will aid the turn-around of trains and reduce truck turn-times at MetroPort

during the afternoon when the import train would ordinarily have worked. While

this will have an impact on delivery times for imports to Auckland, it will not be

material.

These steps are planned to keep cargo moving over what we expect may be a further

six to eight week period of disruption. We are hopeful that the additional interim

measures we are implementing will alleviate some of the current bottle necks in the

supply chain and help to keep cargo moving at this extremely challenging

time. These measures are temporary and will be continually reviewed.

We are very grateful for your patience and understanding over the last few weeks.

Kind regards

Graeme Marshall

Commercial Manager

Port of Tauranga Limited”

If you have any queries regarding this release, please contact us here at ICE.

“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”