The Ports of Auckland has estimated the value of all trade and goods disrupted in this weekend’s four-day stoppage on the Auckland waterfront totals $300 million, according to Stuff.co.nz.
About 330 Maritime Union members started a 24-hour strike at 10.30pm Thursday night and plan to strike again on Monday.
They are also locked out today and tomorrow, effectively shutting down the Bledisloe and Fergusson container terminals for four days. It is the first lockout on the waterfront since 1951. A second strike and lock-out is planned for next weekend.
Six ships and about 4700 containers have been affected and the port has estimated it will lose $1.2 million in revenue this weekend alone.
Chris Carr, chairman of the port committee for industry body, the National Road Carriers, believes the $300 million figure on the value of goods disruptive is conservative.
”Then you’ve got the other bits…people who haven’t been able to do anything. So there’s all of our industry that’s sat around today and hasn’t done anything so that’s the cost of industry sitting on its arse and that’s lost revenue,’ said Carr.
”If you assume that a truck could get say 10 containers off in a day, that’s about $2000-$4000 in lost revenue just floating around.”
Some 500 drivers have been impacted and Carr predicts customers will start growling about late delivery next week, despite plenty of notice about the stoppage.
Meanwhile, he has also applauded the Port of Tauranga’s chief executive Mark Cairns and his support of the Auckland port. Three ships were diverted there from Auckland.
”It’s almost unique. That demonstrates the severity that the commercial world looks at this in, to try to get two mortal enemies together working for the common good – it says, ‘hey, this is serious’,” Carr said.
”Mark Cairns hasn’t had a lot of good things to say about Ports of Auckland over the last three or four years or so and for him to come out and be so helpful is fantastic.”
According to the Ports of Auckland website, the Maritime Union of New Zealand – Local 13 (MUNZ) strike action, and associated lockouts by Ports of Auckland, will result in a closure of the Fergusson and Bledisloe container terminals, and associated road and rail services, over the following periods: • 10.30 pm Thursday 1 December to 10.30 pm Monday 5 December • 10.30 pm Thursday 8 December to 10.30 pm Monday 12 December
Ports of Auckland’s on-dock empty container depot, multi-cargo wharves (Jellicoe, Freyberg, Captain Cook, Marsden), cruise business, vehicle import trade, marine services, Onehunga seaport, Wiri Inland Port and Seafuels barge Awanuia are not affected by the stoppages, and will remain open for business.
Sources: Stuff.co.nz and Ports of Auckland website
