OCEANIA

Container exit for Taranaki

9 years ago

Port Taranaki has formally withdrawn from the container trade and is to focus energies on the log sector and its existing core businesses of bulk liquids, bulk dry products and supporting the offshore oil and gas sector.

The Blyde container terminal at Port Taranaki

The decision comes after a strategic board review of the port’s place within the New Zealand supply chain as well as extensive engagement with shippers, said Port Taranaki chief executive Guy Roper.

“We have determined that it is highly unlikely a coastal shipping container trade will return to Port Taranaki,” he says.

“We have worked hard with potential customers and shipping lines to make it viable to call at the port. However, container services rely on scale and throughput, and with the changes to the national supply chain, we have been unable to secure sufficient trade to attract shipping lines.

“The Blyde container terminal is supporting log exports from the region and additional area will be utilised to support this growth area of our business.”

Having last hosted a containership in 2014, the port will nonetheless be able to accommodate ad hoc containerised and project cargo shipping calls.

The port is also closing its Blyde coldstore, which was used to store chilled and frozen products for the dairy and poultry industries, as well as its container transfer site.