Port rationalisation off the agenda for now

Port of Tauranga has declined to advance preliminary discussions recently initiated by Ports of Auckland about merging the two ports’ container businesses, Ports of Auckland Chairman Gary Judd said yesterday.

Mr Judd said Ports of Auckland had approached Port of Tauranga, with the backing of Auckland Regional Holdings and Auckland Regional Council, on the grounds that such a merger would deliver obvious synergies, cost savings and benefits to all of New Zealand.

“We saw an opportunity to do something that would benefit New Zealand,” Mr Judd said.

“Tauranga’s decision to withdraw, despite solid evidence of the benefits to shareholders and ratepayers in both regions, is disappointing.”

Mr Judd also confirmed that Ports of Auckland would not be pursuing its planned acquisition of Port of Tauranga’s container business.

Mr Judd said comments by Port of Tauranga made in August 2008 indicating that such an acquisition would be highly unwelcome, and the deteriorating external economic environment, were factors behind the decision.

Mr Judd said there was wide industry agreement over the need for rationalisation within the port sector.

Shipment management system live

Ports of Auckland's new Shipment Management System is now live on www.axis-intermodal.co.nz.

"The new system is the next step in realising the future of our e-commerce capabilities and product offerings," said General Manager Sales Marketing and Logistics Craig Sain.

The System brings together recently expanded EDI tools and the new business rules for export containers, facilitating a more efficient and user friendly process for the delivery and loading of export containers.

"For example, the Shipment Management System enables a more timely process for both identifying late containers and correcting inconsistencies across shared information," said Mr Sain.

In the coming years, the innovative system will be developed further as the central repository and source of all information to support Ports of Auckland's ever growing range of cargo management tools for shipping lines and the import and export communities.

"Ports of Auckland's e-commerce strategy is to develop systems and support for use along the entire supply chain. We believe that fast and accurate communications are the key to an efficient supply chain," said Mr Sain.

Queen Mary 2

Students from Westlake Girls High celebrate the arrival of the QM2 - Photo courtesy of Murray Douglas

A visit by the world's largest ocean liner topped off the Ports of Auckland's busiest ever month for cruise ship calls.

The Queen Mary 2, at 345 metres long, called at Auckland's Jellicoe Wharf on Monday (23 February), amid great interest and excitement from ship -spotters and members of the Auckland community.

It was one of 26 cruise ship visits to Auckland during February.

	eNews Ports of Auckland news and information	27 February 2009


	Port rationalisation off the agenda for now Port of Tauranga has declined to advance preliminary discussions recently initiated by Ports of Auckland about merging the two ports’ container businesses, Ports of Auckland Chairman Gary Judd said yesterday. Mr Judd said Ports of Auckland had approached Port of Tauranga, with the backing of Auckland Regional Holdings and Auckland Regional Council, on the grounds that such a merger would deliver obvious synergies, cost savings and benefits to all of New Zealand. “We saw an opportunity to do something that would benefit New Zealand,” Mr Judd said. “Tauranga’s decision to withdraw, despite solid evidence of the benefits to shareholders and ratepayers in both regions, is disappointing.” Mr Judd also confirmed that Ports of Auckland would not be pursuing its planned acquisition of Port of Tauranga’s container business. Mr Judd said comments by Port of Tauranga made in August 2008 indicating that such an acquisition would be highly unwelcome, and the deteriorating external economic environment, were factors behind the decision. Mr Judd said there was wide industry agreement over the need for rationalisation within the port sector. Read article on website


	Shipment management system live Ports of Auckland's new Shipment Management System is now live on www.axis-intermodal.co.nz. "The new system is the next step in realising the future of our e-commerce capabilities and product offerings," said General Manager Sales Marketing and Logistics Craig Sain. The System brings together recently expanded EDI tools and the new business rules for export containers, facilitating a more efficient and user friendly process for the delivery and loading of export containers. "For example, the Shipment Management System enables a more timely process for both identifying late containers and correcting inconsistencies across shared information," said Mr Sain. In the coming years, the innovative system will be developed further as the central repository and source of all information to support Ports of Auckland's ever growing range of cargo management tools for shipping lines and the import and export communities. "Ports of Auckland's e-commerce strategy is to develop systems and support for use along the entire supply chain. We believe that fast and accurate communications are the key to an efficient supply chain," said Mr Sain. For more information To register


	Queen Mary 2 A visit by the world's largest ocean liner topped off the Ports of Auckland's busiest ever month for cruise ship calls. The Queen Mary 2, at 345 metres long, called at Auckland's Jellicoe Wharf on Monday (23 February), amid great interest and excitement from ship -spotters and members of the Auckland community. It was one of 26 cruise ship visits to Auckland during February. Read more at Scoop.co.nz