The Maritime Union of New Zealand is hitting out at global shipping giant Maersk for not employing Kiwi crew members on one of its new services and says it’s exploiting legal loopholes to do so.
The Sirius Star will use two overseas flagged Maersk ships with an entirely foreign crew rotating through five New Zealand ports and two in Fiji.
The ships will be moving containers around New Zealand ports to assist with the port congestion at Ports of Auckland.
Union national secretary Craig Harrison says under the Maritime Transport Act, overseas flagged vessels can carry domestic goods between New Zealand ports, as long as it is part of an international service.
He says Maersk are using the Fiji leg of the operation to get around the intent of the law, because most of the cargo involved will be domestic New Zealand freight.
“Maersk makes a large profit out of its international shipping operations to and from New Zealand, and has a social responsibility to ensure New Zealand has a trained and skilled seafaring workforce,” he says.
Harrison points out that there is now only one New Zealand flagged and crewed coastal container ship, Moana Chief, which is operated by Pacifica Shipping, part of the Swires Group.
Harrison says the Government has committed to rebuilding New Zealand coastal shipping, which is a low-carbon transport mode that would contribute to reducing emissions, but there needed to be immediate action.
He says it is “unreasonable” that New Zealand domestic shipping was levied under the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme for carbon credits and that international shipping working on the New Zealand coast was not.
NZ Shipping Federation chief executive Annabel Young says the Ministry of Transport has developed “a very odd interpretation of section 198 of the Maritime Transport Act”.
“This is what is allowing Maersk to do a double loop around New Zealand carrying coastal freight.
“The effect of this is to disincentive coastal operators who have to face higher government imposed costs.
“By way of example, coastal ships pay approximately NZ$1 million for carbon credits per year but the international operators are exempt from this.
“In addition, coastal operators pay PAYE, GST and get no government subsidies.
“We want the Minister to urgently review the Ministry’s interpretation of section 198. We would also like him to have a look at some of the government-imposed costs borne by the sector,” Young says.
Maersk has responded to the claims and says the New Zealand to Fiji service “is an important component to the Maersk Oceania network”.
“The service will further improve connectivity to and from Nelson and Timaru to Maersk hub ports in New Zealand for onward connection to international markets,” a spokesperson says.
“The service will also enable improved network flexibility and support positioning of empty containers to export demand locations in the South Island to support the New Zealand export peak season demand of perishable goods and agricultural products.
“Furthermore the service will act as our global connection between Fiji and the world where Maersk global import and export cargo to and from Fiji will be transhipped through the port of Tauranga to Maersk international network, further supporting the New Zealand economy and New Zealand shipping routes. Given the current constraint in the New Zealand supply chain, this service will add additional flexibility to enable trade between New Zealand and the rest of the world,” Maersk says.
