During the past months, we have continued to see the impact of extended waiting times and schedule disruption across Oceania ports. Regrettably, this in now affecting the delivery times for containers booked for Auckland MetroPort delivery.

We regret to advise that the Port of Tauranga is currently experiencing a backlog of containers which are destined for Auckland Metroport. Ongoing strong import volumes and the recent block of line, to allow for the completion of rail maintenance and upgrades, have resulted in lengthy delays to rail deliveries with waiting times of up to 15-22 days for 20ft and 40ft units consecutively.

At Maersk we are committed to providing the best possible service to ensure that your supply chain functions as seamlessly as possible. And we’re continuing to review the situation on a service-by-service basis and wish to advise of the following measures which have been introduced to mitigate further delays and reduce the impact of current rail congestion:

• An extra loader deployed to carry ex-Asia hub and ex-Sydney volumes for direct Auckland discharge, currently SPIRIT OF SYDNEY 243N.
• Inducement of an additional Tauranga call for MAERSK NADI 239N on the existing Coastal Connect service, to re-route via Tauranga volumes for direct Auckland discharge.
• Re-direction of Auckland MetroPort import volume from Asia hub ports to load J-Star vessels for direct Auckland discharge.

In addition, Tauranga terminal has implemented the following measures to alleviate congestion and minimise rail waiting times:

• 3 additional trains per week over the remainder of 2022 to provide additional rail capacity.
• Assessment and review of ad-hoc inducement calls to assist in clearing the backlog at Tauranga.
• An offer to customers for collection of import units directly from the Port of Tauranga.

Despite these combined efforts, the outlook does remain challenging. Please be assured that we will continue to review all available contingencies to allow for diversion of MetroPort volumes for direct Auckland discharge.

We thank you in advance for trusting Maersk as your supply chain partner.