Hub Port Policy Would Reduce Shipping Disaster Risk To NZ

News Release 13 October 2011

Hub Port Policy Would Reduce Shipping Disaster Risk To NZ

A policy to develop a major hub port for overseas ships would greatly reduce the risk of maritime disasters such as the Rena grounding off the Bay of Plenty, according to maritime transport consultant, Rod Grout.

Mr Grout, with 30 years of local and international shipping experience, said the lack of a national hub port policy meant more overseas container ships making multiple port calls around New Zealand.

“The Government’s hands-off attitude to shipping policy and port development continues to allow ever-rising volumes of cargo to move on international ships up and down the coast and particularly between Dunedin, Lyttelton and Auckland," he said.

"Given this growth of sea freight and the absence of any coherent hub port development strategy, the chance of a serious accident occurring has also risen year on year.

"It should be no surprise that accident risk factors will keep going up as larger vessels operate hop-scotch services between lots of regional ports."

Mr Grout said it would make environmental and safety sense for international ships to concentrate calls at one or possibly two large hub ports in the upper North Island.

"These big freight hubs should be linked to the rest of the country by domestic transport modes such as coastal shipping and rail, both of which are currently under-utilised and far from optimum capacity.

"The hub port scenario would also cater efficiently to new generations of larger container ships and deliver significant economies of scale for exporters.

"But of huge importance, it would reduce the inherent environmental risks to New Zealand of random and unplanned growth of larger international vessels transiting around the coastline."

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