Coastal shipping

Coastal shipping can help fix our struggling supply chain

Craig Harrison

National Secretary

The time is now to fix our insecure, congested and polluting supply chain. The solution to many of these problems is coastal shipping.

The recent congestion in our ports is not improving, with delays extending from Ports of Auckland to other ports. The entire supply chain is backed up internationally and locally, and it’s causing huge problems. Our supply chain is vulnerable and insecure. What’s the reason behind this? There are several factors at play.

COVID-19 has created international disruption, which is something out of our control. But there are other causes we do have control over.

The Ports of Auckland has been operating at half-speed due to a flawed automation project and is struggling to utilise all the cranes it has available. Auckland is just an obvious symptom of the wider problems. This is a major blockage in our supply chain. The effects have cascaded through the system, leading to other ports being overwhelmed.

The Government is aware of the challenges faced in the transport sector and has just announced a major investment plan for rail. This is the type of long term thinking we need. But no individual transport mode can solve New Zealand’s supply chain issues.

Coastal shipping the solution

The Maritime Union is promoting coastal shipping as the missing piece of the puzzle in our transport strategy. We support a “hub and spoke” model where regional ports are fully utilised using New Zealand coastal shipping, feeding into services that connect cargo internationally.

Coastal shipping provides a low-impact, low-carbon transport mode. It fits into our plan to reduce our emissions in a world where climate change is a growing threat. This helps exporters aiming for a low carbon footprint in a demanding international market.

New Zealand coastal shipping gives our supply chain priority, unlike global operators who change shipping schedules around their own needs. With our own coastal shipping, we’d have the ability to quickly adjust scheduling to meet variations in regional demand, which is determined by the type of product, but also the season. It would provide security in the case of natural disaster or emergency, when land links are broken. Failure of deregulation

But New Zealand has basically no shipping capability outside a few specialist vessels and ferries, and currently has only one coastal container ship. Short-sighted deregulation in the 1990s led to the destruction of our shipping capability. Now our vulnerability has been exposed. Global shippers have other priorities than servicing our small, remote market.

There are currently international shipping companies working on the New Zealand coast in clear breach of the intent of law. This has to end. The Maritime Transport Act needs to be changed to create a level playing field and allow New Zealand coastal shipping to be rebuilt.

Initially this could mean a period of New Zealand operators are supported to charter overseas vessels, and training and education for a new generation of seafarers.

A ports strategy for the future

New Zealand also needs a national ports strategy to fix our transport system. Our ports need to be working in with New Zealand coastal shipping and rail. They need to be co-operating rather than competing.

At the moment, narrow parochialism drives ports. None of this benefits New Zealand industry. It benefits the shareholders of global shipping companies. Destructive competition has contributed to the health and safety crisis, created an insecure and casualized workforce, and put downward pressure on wages and conditions that has hurt port communities.

All stakeholders need to be involved in developing a plan through an industry steering group which aligns our goals. The Government has been missing in this space for a generation and needs to be playing an active role. COVID-19 was a wake-up call on the big scale. It has disrupted the whole “just in time” supply chain model.

In the future there may be similar shocks – or worse. We need to move towards a 21st-century integrated supply chain model which anticipates the problems we face. We have to build in redundancy and flexibility to our supply chain that best reflects the needs of a trading island nation in the South Pacific. A national ports strategy and coastal shipping would be part of this. The time for action is now.

MUNZ youth at the March 2021 National Council, Wellington, back row from left: George Lye, Matt Hayward, Tim Camp, Josh Greer, Michael O’Hara, Michael Searle, front row from left Mana Tamatea, Shanaya Hunter, Amanda Manson, Kiriana Coleman

MUNZ members on the Kaitaki commemorate May Day (international workers day) 1 May 2021 with the Cuban Ambassador en route to the Blackball May Day celebrations.

Tauranga Branch Picnic Day, 2020

Auckland Branch Local 13 Secretary Russell Mayn (left) meets with Fullers delegates

MUNZ Auckland Branch Local 13 Stopwork Meeting, Orakei Bowling Club, 13 April 2021