May 28, 2013

Auckland said the shipping line Maersk would resume its Southern Star service 

The Southern Star service moved from Auckland to Tauranga at the height of the port’s dispute with the Maritime Union in December 2011.

“This new service, with bigger ships and larger exchanges of containers cements our position as the import port of choice,” Ports of Auckland chief executive Tony Gibson said.

Gibson said in a statement Maerk’s return would require increased productivity “something our work over the last year has shown we can deliver”.

Ports of Auckland had been working to lift productivity by restructuring, improving processes, and by implementing a new shift and roster system for over a third of stevedores, he said.

The Northern and Southern Star is a two-loop, 10-vessel weekly service between Tanjung Pelepas, Singapore and New Zealand ports.

Five vessels deployed on the Southern Star service will be upgraded in the size of container they can carry, from the current 1,900 teu (twenty-foot equivalent unit) to up to 2,800 teu.