Port Otago workers stepping up with longer work hours to shorten turnaround

Port Otago workers have proposed longer work hours to shorten vessel turnaround times for the new port call on Maersk’s Polaris service.  

Port Otago is the newest port to join Maersk’s trans-Tasman service, which will call the ports of Melbourne, Auckland, Nelson, Timaru and Lyttelton weekly. This follows their decision to withdraw the Coastal Connect Service.  

Port Otago also announced that Polaris service is now to call Port Chalmers every Thursday, beginning this month, to meet demand from South Island importers and exporters. 

Meanwhile, the Maritime Union of New Zealand and the Rail and Maritime Transport Union have agreed to work additional hours at Port Otago to turn vessels around more quickly. 

The port’s commercial manager Craig Usher said he was proud of the team for stepping up to support the change. 

“It’s a much-needed leg-up for our South Island exporters during their peak season, as they will get more cargo to market and faster,” he said. 

“And it will keep our port business healthy, by helping a key shipping partner clear congestion. 

“The rest of the world is returning to normal shipping flows, post-Covid-created congestion. But New Zealand is taking longer, related to our backlog of cargo and nationwide labour shortages.” 

My Therese Blank, Maersk’s regional head of market, Oceania, said ocean transport is key to New Zealand’s economy. 

“We are grateful for the strong local relationships and support from Port Otago to enable this improved network with speed,” she said. 

“During the past two years, we have made significant investments in our New Zealand network to keep the country’s supply chain moving. 

The re-launch of the Polaris service and this week’s announcement to add a weekly port call at Port Otago, is expected to improve the supply chain stability, while offering enhanced product flexibility for New Zealand customers via connections at Port Otago to our New Zealand network and in Melbourne to our Australia ocean network. 

Mr Usher said the unions worked proactively with the company to shape up a workable plan for all parties. 

“Our teams will work 10-hour shifts, rather than the traditional eight-hour shifts, so we can provide additional discharge and loading capacity throughout the week,” he said. 

“This allows us to better match our limited people resources with the key task of turning vessels around as quickly as possible.” 

Port Otago said the first vessel to be serviced under the new arrangement is due on Thursday 27 April.