Port of Tauranga. File photo / Sam Ackland
Ports of Auckland, in the midst of strike disruptions, will lose almost $20 million of annual revenue after Maersk, the biggest shipper visiting New Zealand, switched one of its services to Port of Tauranga.
The loss of Maersk's Southern Star container service amounts to 52 ship calls, or 82,500 containers
a year, Ports of Auckland chief executive Tony Gibson said in a statement. The industrial action at Auckland played a part in the decision, Maersk's New Zealand marketing manager Dave Gulik said in a separate statement.
"The security of their supply chain is of primary importance to our customers, so anything affecting that, or likely to affect that in the future, will come into the equation when we are deciding schedules," Gulik said.
The loss of revenue amounts to 11 percent to the $177 million Ports of Auckland garnered in sales in the year ended June 30. Profit fell 37 per cent in its latest year.
The port has postponed mediation talks with the Maritime Union that had been slated for today. The union and the port have been at loggerheads over their employment contract, precipitating a strike and a lock-out this month - typically a peak period in the run-up to Christmas.
