Q & As

UPDATED: JUNE 2023

Northport receives many questions from different media on a regular basis, covering a wide range of issues.

In an effort to ensure accuracy and consistency of reporting we publish here the questions we receive most frequently, along with the answers.

For media enquiries please contact:

Peter Heath
Due North Public Relations
E: peter@duenorthpr.co.nz
P: 021 456 089

Upper North Island Supply-Chain Strategy Working Group report
  • Which of the political perspectives on this report does Northport favour?
  • We’re apolitical and will stay that way.

  • Is Northport still lobbying for a share of Auckland’s cargo? If so, how?
  • Northport has not, and does not, lobby for a share of Auckland’s cargo. Freight will only relocate if the business case stacks up and the customer sees value in the relocation.

  • Do you disagree with the notion that the Port of Auckland should be shut down and its operations moved elsewhere in their entirety?
  • Northport supports the wider view of the three Upper North Island ports working collaboratively to better utilise their current and potential footprints to support the Upper North Island’s current and future freight demand. Innovative technology provides for better optimisation of port cargo storage/transit facilities and automation can increase productivity resulting in smoother ship turnaround.

  • You call for a resilient, geographically astute, three-port supply-chain strategy for the Upper North Island. What does ‘geographically astute’ mean?
  • Identification of where the Upper North Island population will grow/relocate and in turn identifying the freight location and/or destination within the area enabling sound decision making with regard to infrastructure requirements; i.e. geographically astute rather than parochial decision making.

  • How realistic is it to expect imports to be directed to the Upper North Island port closest to their intended destination? Is that even possible?
  • High value freight will take advantage of earliest/fastest routes as the product can afford to travel/be multi handled, where the lower value freight will focus on total end-to-end cost. While more focus can be placed on receiving freight at the closest port in reality it will depend on shipping services and frequency.

  • What trends in international shipping are addressed by a three-port supply-chain strategy for the Upper North Island?
  • Reducing the number of international port calls to reduce overall supply chain costs. However, for this to work effectively there is a need for multi-modal efficient supply chains: road, rail, and coastal shipping.

  • The report issued by Wayne Brown and his group was heavily criticised. What did you think of it?
  • The report focused heavily on a relocation of Ports of Auckland to Northport. Our view is that the current and future Northport footprint cannot accommodate both Northland and Auckland’s current freight, let alone future freight growth. There was brief discussion over a complete rebuild of Northport’s infrastructure. This would require removing most of the current infrastructure and dredging into the hinterland and is, in our view, unrealistic. A far more practical solution would involve a geographically-astute, resilient three-port Upper North Island supply-chain strategy - underpinned by modern, effective road, rail and coastal shipping infrastructure.

  • What’s your view of the Sapere Report?
  • The Sapere Report focussed on a relocation of the Auckland port to either Manakau Harbour or the Firth of Thames, and even some suggestion of a man-made island port in the Hauraki Gulf. Aside from the operational issues of any one of these, the consenting hurdles and cost to the country of the total relocation cost would be formidable! A far more practical solution, in our view, would involve a geographically-astute, resilient three-port Upper North Island supply-chain strategy - underpinned by modern, effective road, rail and coastal shipping infrastructure.

  • What now needs to be done before an informed decision can be made about a future UNI ports strategy?
  • There are two options, allow commercial decision making to drive the outcomes, or undertake a country wide freight demand study with a focus on the UNI – this will require future population and industry projections and their associated freight growth demand.

  • Some industry figures are calling for a study that looks at freight demand over the next 30 years to ensure we have the right capacity, and in the right places. This would include freight modelling - where is export/import demand going to grow? Do you agree?
  • Yes – as per above.

  • Should ports be working more collaboratively and, if so, what needs to happen to make this possible?
  • New Zealand ports need to work more collaboratively. However ports have to be wary of the difference between ‘working collaboratively’ and ‘collusion’; in our view the recent changes in leadership at ports around the country have created new opportunities to better discuss opportunities within the supply chain.

  • To what extent did the UNISCSWG consult with Northport before compiling their report - how many meetings did you have?
  • The inaugural meeting for the Group was held at Northport where a presentation and tour of the site were given. We had a second opportunity to meet with the Group in Auckland as the study progressed (approx. 2 hours).

  • Did the group seek your views on the practicality of moving the Ports of Auckland to Northport in its entirety, before putting forward that proposal in his report?
  • Northport outlined its views on this at both meetings.

  • After that the UNISCSWG suggested government intervention if the UNI ports weren’t prepared to make a plan to migrate Auckland’s traffic to Northport, you said you’d get together with the Chairs of the other ports to consider next steps. How did that go?
  • COVID happened very shortly after that and, since then, the three ports have had a very different set of priorities. We’d also make the point that the commentary calling for government intervention was based on the perception that there is no collaboration between us. In fact, very good working relationships exist - both Tauranga and Auckland have interests in Northport - that we feel will form the basis of discussions that we very much hope will start taking place about a three-port strategy for a robust, resilient Upper North Island transport and logistics strategy.

  • Why has Northport kept such a low profile in the national conversation about moving Ports of Auckland?
  • This has predominantly been a political arena; Northport has remained apolitical throughout and provided through its Vision for Growth factual information about its capability.

Expansion/Vision for Growth
  • How many extra jobs, without the shipyard and floating dry-dock?
  • The proposed port expansion/container terminal will initially require 50-100 additional jobs at Northport. As the business case allows, the terminal will become semi-automated and then fully automated. Total job numbers will be 30-50 at that time.

  • To what extent does the expansion rely on container trade? Is it worth doing for break-bulk only?
  • The expansion is based on a container trade supporting the Northland and north Auckland freight growth/demand. The current consented port footprint is capable of supporting all of Northland’s current and future freight demand (bulk/break-bulk and container).

  • What will be the decision-point for the Board - in terms of both timing and commercial activity?
  • As in all Northport expansion plans a solid business case will be required. This can be dependent on both the commercial demand as well as picking the right time to make the investment. As we can demonstrate, the consenting phase can take upwards of five years to complete and is why we started this consent process in 2015.

  • Is the project time sensitive?
  • As per above, the project cannot go ahead without a consent. The time needed to prepare and (hopefully) obtain a consent means the timing of the application is of paramount importance so as to facilitate our ability to react quickly to growth demand.

  • What will be the impact of 24hr operations on neighbouring residential areas?
  • The port already operates 24/7. There are existing noise management procedures that are reviewed regularly. The proposed shipyard is likely to have conditions imposed around night-time operations such as sand-blasting and painting.

Rail
  • Do you think the spur will ever happen?
  • The rail spur and the port expansion are complementary and both are important to Northport’s ability to play a meaningful role in a resilient and geographically-astute upper North Island supply chain. KiwiRail are in the process of purchasing the last few pieces of land within the designation while confirming the build design. Once this has been completed the actual build is estimated at five years from inception to completion.

  • Is KiwiRail coming to the party, commercially, with competitive rates that will make rail a viable option for cargo heading south?
  • Northport is not privy to the commercial rates provided by KiwiRail.

  • Is an Auckland/Northport rail freight service commercially viable right now? If not, what would it take to make it so?
  • Increased freight volume and either a reduced road-bridge cost or a small container siding at Oakleigh (being discussed with KiwiRail).

  • At what stage, and at what level of detail, are your planning discussions with KiwiRail?
  • Northport meets regularly with KiwiRail, as this project ramps up there are plans for in depth discussions around rail requirements at Marsden Point.

  • Where will the rail line go; where will the terminal be situated?
  • Check out the video on our ‘Vision for Growth’ website , or the slider on this page.

  • What do you think about Wayne Brown’s point that rail should run straight to the side of ships?
  • This type of rail configuration is no longer adopted by modern port design; the turnaround times/productivity of ship loading/discharge makes direct to hook delivery impractical, operations need all of the cargo at the port and stacked for multi-port/destination loading before ship arrival.
    For discharge the cargo needs to be removed from under hook as soon as landed and taken to storage areas for sorting/stacking for specific destination(s).

Road
  • Was ditching the road for the rail the right decision?
  • Northland requires a multi-modal supply chain, ditching any one for the other makes no real sense if the government really wants Northland as a region to grow.

  • Would you support road development over rail?
  • The rail spur and North Auckland Line upgrade are important to the port’s expansion plans. However, in the interim, linking Northland and Auckland more effectively by road would promote growth within the region; freight, tourism, general business, decentralisation, etc.

Shipyard and dry-dock
  • What does Northport have that Picton doesn’t?
  • Northport has not been contracted to consider one port facility over the other, we were asked to consider whether Northport could accommodate a floating dry dock within its future port plans. In doing so we have identified that a floating drydock and associated shipyard facilities need access to significant land based infrastructure, the floating drydock needs access as well as substantial securing infrastructure – these units cannot operate anchored out in the stream; as can be seen from our Vision for Growth plans the proposed infrastructure has sufficient area to support the planned operations. Northland has access to suitable labour and required shipbuilding trades, as well as being able to accommodate any of the shipyard staff moving from Auckland to Northland.

  • What do you need/want from government to make this happen?
  • At this time, we are only asking for government to openly support the consenting programme and shipyard concept as a nationally strategic, regionally significant project; we have at no time asked government to fund this project, other than through the shovel ready opportunities.

  • Is the shipyard and dry-dock an essential component of your growth plans?
  • The shipyard/floating drydock is not part of Northport’s own growth plans. Northport is a port operator not a shipyard operator. However the management/shareholders recognised an opportunity for Northport to facilitate significant regional growth and regional and nationally strategic infrastructure.

Cars
  • What’s your position on cars? You spoke some time ago about an alternative business model for the vehicle import trade; what progress?
  • We continue to work closely with potential customers that see the opportunity to move out of Auckland and are available to mitigate the challenges facing the industry with the capabilities and space we have here.
    Northport has continued to discuss an alternative to the current car-import model at Ports of Auckland. We are not suggesting a like-for-like operation but an ‘out of the box’ approach whereby cars are imported into Northport and delivered to an adjacent car storage/preparation facility. Then either collected by the customer directly or delivered door-to-door.

  • You have a job to do, to win over the sceptics in the motor trade. How do you plan to do that?
  • Selling the concept relies on ongoing and effective communication with industry players, while working closely with potential customers that see the opportunity to move out of Auckland.

Cruises
  • Do you intend to build cruise-specific facilities to become a cruise terminal?
  • There is no reason for Northport to build a purpose-built cruise facility. The cruise industry is happy to berth alongside a commercial wharf facility, especially if that avoids an anchoring situation and disembarking/embarking by tender.
    Cruise lines are always looking for new and interesting destinations to add to their itineraries and it is our view that Whangārei could become a northern New Zealand cruise destination.
    Before COVID struck there was sufficient interest in Whangārei among cruise lines for several ships to have been booked to call at Northport for what might be termed ‘exploratory’ visits.
    The first of these was booked for the summer of 2021 and was scheduled to arrive to coincide with the opening of the new Hundertwasser Art Centre in Whangārei.
    Cruises to NZ re-started in the 22/23 season and calls to New Zealand ports are expected to increase to and beyond pre-pandemic levels over the next few years. Northport is expected to receive its first cruise ship in early 2024. At this stage (June 2023) Northport is scheduled to receive four in the 23/24 season, six in the 24/25 season and one in the 25/26 season.
    Latest Cruise bookings here

Log fumigation
  • Where can I find more information?
  • Please see extensive background and additional information here.

Cargo trends
  • What are your forecasts for log exports?
  • In 2014 Northport undertook a review of log availability in Northland, this review identified that log volumes in Northland are expected to remain around 4.2 million m³ per annum until 2026 and then shows a fall to an average harvest availability of c.2.4 million m³ per annum between 2027 and 2041.
    Currently log processors use c.1.7 million m³ per annum, this is based on the structural portion of the resource. Based on 40% of the available resources being available to the processors (without any retooling factored in), export log volumes are expected to drop to as low as around 1.4 million m³ per annum over the same period.
    This study had a desktop review undertaken in 2018 to confirm accuracy of projections. The review indicated projections were accurate. In 2021/22 a full review was undertaken of the log availability in Northland utilising new technology and most recent harvesting and planting information.
    Findings included:
    - total annual harvest is projected to reduce gradually from approximately 3.9 million m³ in 2022/2023 to 1.8 million m³ by 2030
    - total annual harvest will then plateau for five to six years until approximately 2035/2036 before starting to rise again
    - total annual harvest will then peak at up to 6 million m³ by 2045

  • How do you plan to compensate for any slow-down in log exports?
  • Northport reviewed its strategic planning in 2015 after the release of the Log Availability Forecast and a study of Northland freight options and made its first move into container handling, which is growing apace. At the same time it introduced its Vision for Growth to the port’s wider community stakeholders.
    At the same time it introduced its Vision for Growth to the port’s wider community stakeholders.

  • Why is so much container traffic into and out of Northland still bypassing your port?
  • Availability of regular international shipping services calling at Northport. Currently there is a Pacifica coastal service servicing ports throughout NZ, as well as seasonal international calls by MSC and CMA-CGM for horticulture and meat products. More detail here.