NEW Zealand seafarers and community supporters are planning a demonstration in response to the withdrawal of Maersk’s Coastal Connect service.
The Maritime Union of New Zealand announced on Thursday the seafaring community and other participants would gather for “a peaceful informational picket” near Port Nelson on Sunday 2 April.
Maersk announced on 17 March that it would phase out the dedicated coastal service in April this year, a decision it attributed to supply chain disruptions around New Zealand.
The container service began less than a year ago, calling ports of Auckland, Tauranga, Nelson, Lyttelton and Timaru.
The two containerships on the service, Maersk Nadi and Maersk Nansha, had New Zealand crews.
Maritime Union of New Zealand national secretary Craig Harrison said the move to pull the service resulted in the loss of as many as 60 local seafaring jobs.
He believes the decision will further disrupt the country’s supply chains. He said New Zealand is currently facing “an ongoing supply chain crisis”.
“That is why goods are taking so long to be imported and exported and moved around New Zealand,” Mr Harrison said in a statement.
He said coastal shipping is an efficient mode of transport that provides resilience during natural disasters. In the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle, Mr Harrison called for coastal ships to be used in relief efforts.
“This decision by Maersk shows that we need to take our coastal shipping capability more seriously,” Mr Harrison said.
He said the Maritime Union of New Zealand is proposing changes to the Maritime Transport Act to prioritise New Zealand flagged and crewed ships on the New Zealand coast.
The union is also proposing government support for a New Zealand-owned coastal shipping operator to provide priority service for New Zealand ports, and training and employment opportunities for NZ nationals in the industry.
