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
ITEMS CONTAINING ENGINES FOR SEAFREIGHT WILL BE CLASSIFIED AS DG FROM 1ST JANUARY 2012
December 22nd, 2011 | Posted under Exports, Imports, Sea Freight
Good Day,
Below is a release we have received from Dangerous Goods Management regarding classification of items containing engines as Dangerous Goods, effective 1st January 2012 :
“Engines for Seafreight will be classified as Dangerous Goods from 1st January 2012
Beginning 1st January 2012, all articles containing an engine, either flammable liquid or gas powered, will be considered a dangerous good for seafreight.
Items containing engines (cars, motorbikes, weed eaters, chainsaws, lawnmowers etc) will fall under UN3166 classification. This is a class 9 dangerous good.
We understand several companies have heard about this, and we just want to inform you that these changes are correct. We anticipate that a lot of freight forwarders may be caught out by this, so we recommend that you also check with shipping lines before sending any articles containing an engine.
As always, we are happy to assist you with any queries you have about this (including DG documentation and labeling for UN3166)
Limited quantity labels for seafreight from 1st January 2012
Also coming into force on 1st January 2012, is the requirement that any seafreight containers containing dangerous goods in limited quantities will require the limited quantity mark on all four sides of the container.
This mark is in addition to any regular DG placards that are on the container.
DGM is able to supply companies with this new mark, so please don’t hesitate to contact us if you require it.”
Any queries, please contact us here at ICE.
CANTERBURY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE XMAS HOURS
December 12th, 2011 | Posted under Air Freight, Exports, Sea Freight
Good afternoon,
Below are the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce hours for Xmas and New Year :
Monday 19th December 2011 Through to Thursday 22nd December 8.30am to 5.00pm
Friday 23rd December 2011 – 08.30am to 12.00pm
Monday 26th December – Closed
Tuesday 27th December – Closed
Wednesday 28th & Thursday 29th December 2011 – 09.00am to 3.00pm
Friday 30th December 2011 – 09.00am to 12.00pm
Monday 2nd January 2012 – Closed
Tuesday 3rd January 2012 – Closed
Wednesday 4th January 2012 – 8.30am to 5.00pm
Trust this assists, if you have any queries please contact us here at ICE.
STRIKE REDUCED TO 24 HOURS
December 8th, 2011 | Posted under Exports, Imports, Sea Freight
Below is another release from the Ports of Auckland :
“Mediation to continue tomorrow; strike reduced to 24 hours
Ports of Auckland Chief Executive Tony Gibson said today that mediation talks with the Maritime Union of New Zealand – Local 13 (MUNZ) had progressed some way, with the union agreeing to reduce its forthcoming strike from 48 to 24 hours. The strike will now start at 10.30 pm Friday night instead of tonight.
“Ports of Auckland has consistently maintained a position that we will not meet the union during a strike,” Mr Gibson said. “On this basis, we have agreed to continue mediation tomorrow.”
“We remain disappointed that the union has chosen not to withdraw the strike planned for Saturday and the further 48 hours of strikes planned for later in the month.”
“Their partial withdrawal has come too late to stop the four ships diverting to Tauranga this weekend and too late to roster a full complement of staff on tonight.”
“While the port will be open tomorrow, we will be working through the backlog created by the last stoppage instead of servicing new callers. Importers and exporters will still suffer delays as a result, and slots for road carriers will be limited.”
Mr Gibson said he was determined to press ahead to find a resolution to the dispute.
“Inflexible work arrangements dating back decades need to be addressed for the port to move forward and offer the best service it can for Auckland and New Zealand. Maersk’s decision to shift the Southern Star service to Tauranga has shown us that we’re out of time. We need to lift our game and lift it now.”
“This means being able to guarantee our customers reliable, flexible service and achieving up-front productivity gains. Our customers and the wider business community are telling us that we have to sort this out once and for all.”
The parties will meet for further mediation at 9 am tomorrow, Friday 9 December.”
Please contact us here at ICE should you have any queries.
Further Information Ports of Auckland strikes
December 8th, 2011 | Posted under Exports, Imports, Sea Freight
Good afternoon,
Just a quick update on the Ports of Auckland strikes that began a week ago with the lockout period from Thursday 1st Dec to Mon 5th Dec.
Many of the shipping lines opted to omit Auckland and divert their vessels to Port of Tauranga, utilising the rail link and Metroport Auckland to service customers. This certainly worked well for the first few days and vessels, but inevitably the sheer volume (approx 4100 containers) has resulted in a back log of containers on the rail and congestion at Metroport. Transit times between Tauranga and Auckland have been around 3-4 days for the containers coming off the later vessels in the strike period and truck turnaround times at Metroport are very slow with dozens of trucks at times queuing up to collect containers. We are doing all we can in working with the situation by keeping customers informed of their container
status and working with the Port of Tauranga in prioritising urgent containers on the rail shuttle. Clearly many containers are priority and the system struggles to cope.
Some other news on the situation is that the Cosco Yingkou vessel from China was planned to divert to Port of Tauranga, but they are unable to accept due to being over capacity. This vessel which was due to arrive on Fri 9th will have to wait until late evening Mon 12th to get a berth at Ports of Auckland, and will omit Lyttelton to get back on schedule.
Maersk Line has also announced a permanent switch of their Southern Star service from Asia way from Auckland to Port of Tauranga. The industrial action is cited as a factor in this decision.
Attached are some recent notices from Ports of Auckland. They have withdrawn their lockout notice for the period 8th to 10th December and the Maritime union has issued a 3rd strike notice from 22nd to 23rd December.
ICE will continue to work through this on a vessel by vessel basis and keep customers informed as information comes to hand. Any queries please contact us here at ICE.
http://www.poal.co.nz/news_media/publications/cust_advisory/111207a_customeradvisory_email.htm
http://www.poal.co.nz/news_media/publications/cust_advisory/111207_customeradvisory_email.htm
PORTS OF AUCKLAND THIRD STRIKE NOTICE
December 8th, 2011 | Posted under Exports, Imports, Sea Freight
| Good Morning, unfortunately we have received news of another strike scheduled for Ports of Auckland as below :
“07 December 2011 Customer Advisory Ports of Auckland receives third strike notice Ports of Auckland has received a third strike notice from the Maritime Union of New Zealand – The strike notice is for two 24 hour periods, from 10.30 pm on Thursday 22 December until 10.30 pm Ports of Auckland Chief Executive Tony Gibson says he is shocked the union has issued a third strike “This morning we lifted our lockout notice and challenged the union to lift their strike notice for this “It’s therefore highly disappointing to instead get hit with a further strike, right over Christmas.” “This is counter-productive. This industrial action has already cost Ports of Auckland one major Mr Gibson said Ports of Auckland would continue to work with the Port of Tauranga and KiwiRail to The company has agreed to meet with the union for further mediation tomorrow, Thursday 8 The company’s Bledisloe and Fergusson container terminals, and associated road and rail services, Tomorrow’s strike action will start at 10.30 pm on Thursday 8 December 2011 until 10.30 pm Refer to the following advisory for the latest information on operating hours: Refer to Ports of Auckland website Industrial Action Update page: For more information please contact us here at ICE. |
COSCO VESSEL ANNOUNCEMENT
December 7th, 2011 | Posted under Exports, Imports, Sea Freight
Good afternoon,
We have received the below release from COSCO regarding their vessel schedule :
“M/V COSCO Yingkou V040s/n – Revised NZ Schedule
Dear Valued Customers,
Due to continuing industrial action at Ports of Auckland this weekend, and no alternative berth at Port of Tauranga
COSCO Yingkou will now commence cargo operations at the end of the strike/lock out period.
Lyttelton Port call will now be omitted, to return vessel to schedule and her departure from Tauranga
COSCO Yingkou V040
ETA (berth) ETD
Auckland 2300 / 12 2300 / 13
Napier 1900 / 14 0700 / 15
Tauranga 2300 / 15 1330 / 16
Lyttelton Imports will discharge Auckland and be carried on Rudolf Schepers V010s ETA LYT 19th Dec ‘11
Lyttelton Exports will roll to Rudolf Schepers V010 ETD LYT 20 Dec ‘11 ”
Please feel free to contact us here at ICE should you have any queries.