Port of Tauranga's landmark alliance with freight company Kotahi and Maersk Line is likely to see deep draft 6500 TEU container ships calling at the port by the end of next year, says company chairman David Pilkington.
The deal announced late last week would see Kotahi and Maersk entering into a 10-year commitment on shipping volumes through Tauranga and PrimePort Timaru, which was 50 per cent owned by Port of Tauranga.
In addition, Kotahi would take a 49 per cent share in Port of Tauranga-owned Timaru Container Terminal, which had a 30-year lease to run Timaru's container services.
"We've been working for some time to try to get commitment either from a shipping company or indeed from a significant shipper," said Mr Pilkington.
"What became very evident was that we needed a three-way arrangement, because the shipping company won't bring ships unless they've got a commitment of cargo, and the shipper won't back a big ship port unless they've got a long-term commitment."