Port of Tauranga

NZL Group Marshalling and Stevedoring Contract

Posted on 16th January 2009

We received a notice from NZL Group on 24 December 2008, advising that they wish to re-establish operations at Sulphur Point. This notice heralded an unexpected withdrawal by NZL from negotiations to renew a service contract agreement with the Port of Tauranga, which they had been operating under for the past five years. This agreement binds both parties to strict confidentiality obligations, but recent comments from Ken Harris of NZL in the media require a response.

It has been reported that "NZL Group intends to set-up a private container terminal - the first of its kind in the country". We consider talk of a "private container terminal" somewhat misleading. NZL's contractual rights to re-establish operations are yet to be determined, but in any event, NZL's services would not be greater in scope than when they operated as a marshalling and stevedoring contractor back in 2003.

Port of Tauranga Chief Executive, Mark Cairns commented "We are surprised at NZL's actions when we understood negotiations in good faith for a new services contract were well advanced. Moreover, we find it irksome to discover that NZL's Christmas Eve press release was prepared by Ports of Auckland."

Port of Tauranga has always operated within a strong competitive context, being the only New Zealand port to actively promote intra-port competition between stevedores and marshallers in our Container Terminal and consequently we derive competitive advantage from greater efficiency and superior cost structures. We fail to see how NZL's proposal would be value or efficiency enhancing to our customers.

For further details, contact:
Mark Cairns
Chief Executive
Port of Tauranga Limited
Ph: 07 572 8829