Support builds for coastal shipping

The Rangitata container ship loads up at Eastland Port as part of a three-month coastal shipping arrangement set up after the closure of State Highway 2 between Napier and Wairoa due to Cyclone Gabrielle. There is support for a permanent coastal service between Gisborne and other regions. Picture by Liam Clayton

The Maritime Union of New Zealand is the latest to back the permanent return of a “blue highway” linking Gisborne and other regions by sea.

The temporary coastal service between Gisborne and Napier earlier this year was “proof of concept” for how New Zealand coastal shipping could work for the regions, the union’s national secretary,

Craig Harrison, said.

Local producers and other freight users needed to make the shift towards the “blue highway” permanently, he said.

“The more coastal shipping services are used, the more frequent and regular services will become.

“There needs to be forward thinking and a collective shift to a different mix of transport modes, with industry and the Government working together, rather than waiting for the next incident.

“Coastal shipping is the most environmentally sound option, and relieves the congestion, damage and safety issues on our overburdened roads.”

The union had called for changes to the Maritime Transport Act which disadvantaged New Zealand domestic shipping, and consideration of the entry of a public shipping operator to give resilience to regional freight connections, he said.

The coastal container route between Eastland and Napier ports, established after Cyclone Gabrielle, operated for three months in support of local businesses impacted by the closure of State Highway 2 between Napier and Wairoa.

During the three-month charter of the ship Rangitata, funded by the Government, there were 18 voyages and 294 containers moved between the two East Coast ports.

The support was by way of a $500,000 grant to get the necessary infrastructure in place and a

$2.25 million underwrite to Eastland Port for the charter of the ship Rangitata for three months.

Eastland Port declined to comment further when approached but operations manager Andy Kinsella previously told The Gisborne Herald he was “certain” coastal container shipping would return in the future once the port completed its $60 million rebuild of Wharf 7 and Twin Berth Project.