NEW ZEALAND's South Island Port of Timaru is on tenterhooks as it entertains high hopes Maersk will decide to make it a regular port of call, reports Fairfax Media
NEW ZEALAND's South Island Port of Timaru is on tenterhooks as it entertains high hopes Maersk will decide to make it a regular port of call, reports Fairfax Media. The port wants to see more ships like the 5,303-TEU Rio de Janeiro, the biggest ship ever to call, which recently docked there on a trial run.
Maersk Oceania area product manager Greg Paradine said his company had recently customised its services to accommodate New Zealand ports such as Tauranga, Napier, Lyttelton and Port Chalmers.
Timaru could be next on that list after the Rio de Janeiro's stop over late last month, he said.
Mr Paradine confirmed that last year's NZ$2.5 million (US$1.6 million) project to widen the Timaru port's inner breakwater entrance from 90 metres to 140 metres to allow for easier access for bigger vessels had played a significant role in getting the Rio de Janeiro into port.
'Recent investments at PrimePort Timaru has enabled us to perform the one-off test call and we are now in the process of fully evaluating the results of this test and any potential future network adjustments,' he said.
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