Port of Tauranga

NZL Dispute

Posted on 17th August 2009

Port of Tauranga Limited has lodged (declaratory judgement) proceedings in the High Court today, in an attempt to resolve the long running dispute with NZL.

On Christmas Eve last year, NZL lodged a claim to re-establish marshalling operations at Sulphur Point. This notice heralded an unexpected withdrawal by NZL from negotiations to renew a service contract agreement with Port of Tauranga, which they had been operating under for the past five years.

Chief Executive Mark Cairns said "Port of Tauranga has never been un-cooperative in trying to resolve the dispute and had responsibly sought a number of legal opinions on the contractual interpretation. We are disappointed to have to initiate proceedings, but as a Listed Company, we can not allow this important matter to remain unresolved, nor allow NZL to continue trying to litigate this issue through the media."

As this case is now before the courts, we will not be making any further public comment.

Mark Cairns
CHIEF EXECUTIVE