Port Taranaki-Melbourne link in wind

Port Taranaki is in talks about a new shipping service between New Plymouth and Melbourne.

"We believe there's scope for a fast-track transtasman service between us and Melbourne with two ships running non-stop between the two ports, capable of carrying about 120,000 TEUs [standard container loads] a year," said Jon Hacon, business development manager for Westgate Transport, which runs Port Taranaki.

One company likely to be interested in operating the new transtasman link would be the Maersk shipping line, which began large-scale container shipments from Port Taranaki in 2001, and has since become the port's biggest user.

The proposed transtasman run is part of a global trend to "hubbing" - amalgamating cargoes from various regions at a single port. This results in larger ships calling at fewer ports, with greater centralisation of imports and exports.

- NZPA