Pacifica Shipping is actively involved in promoting the benefits of Short Sea Shipping to improve New Zealand's transport efficiency, environmental health and economic prospects.
What is Short Sea Shipping?
Short Sea Shipping (or coastal shipping) is the scheduled movement of cargo by sea between ports around New Zealand.
The definition includes domestic and international maritime transport, including feeder services, around the coast and between the North and South Islands.
Short Sea Shipping is based on the concept of carrying freight door-to-door, or factory to factory, like road transport. This is accomplished by using fast, modern ships and by incorporating intermodal transport for collection and delivery.
Transit time to many destinations is only slightly longer than road or rail transport and the cost can be considerably cheaper, up to 25-50% in some instances. The advantages of Short Sea Shipping tend to be:
- often cheaper than road and rail transport.
- reliable with guaranteed transit times.
- environmentally friendly.
- flexible in being able to move all types of cargo, e.g. containers, break bulk and rolling stock.
Why develop Short Sea Shipping?
Over the next 15-20 years domestic cargo moving between Auckland and the South Island will double in volume, putting huge pressure on road and rail infrastructure and the environment. In addition, international shipping services will use large (6000 TEU plus) vessels for the New Zealand trade, effectively reducing the number and frequency of port calls for the country's import and export cargoes.
Pacifica Shipping's goal is to develop and promote Short Sea Shipping as a commercially acceptable, safe, secure and environmentally beneficial way to reduce congestion on an over-burdened land transport system. We are committed to building a reliable coastal shipping service to complement rail and road transport and meet the economic needs of New Zealand shippers and manufacturers.
We will continue to encourage and promote co-operation across all transport modes to create a seamless, multi-modal, and integrated coastal shipping system serving New Zealand's best interests.