A container ship sails into Napier Port on Monday. Photo / Warren Buckland
A container ship sails into Napier Port on Monday. Photo / Warren Buckland
A container company that operates out of Napier Port says Covid-19 restrictions have made the number of containers available for exporters in the Hawke's Bay region "tighter than we would like".
ContainerCo, which operates out of several key ports in the North Island, including Napier, has been struggling nationally withshipping container supply.
Ports have been disrupted globally due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has unbalanced the distribution of supply and demand for companies like it and created congestion of containers at busier ports and shortages of containers in areas that sailings are bypassing.
ContainerCo managing director Ken Harris said having disruptions to key staff on the job as a result of Covid outbreaks meant sailing schedules were then also disrupted.
Napier Depot Manager for ContainerCo, Steve Feyen, is amongst those maintaining the container flow in and out of the region. Photo / Warren Buckland
In smaller regions like Hawke's Bay, this was less of an issue.
"In Auckland the company is having difficulty keeping positions manned, as many of our trained staff are off work for testing and self-isolation.
"In Napier we have a small but effective team, and no issues around staffing. When containers can't be supplied due to Covid-19 then we will see a greater impact on employees in the Hawke's Bay region," said Harris.
The latest lockdown will further limit the availability of containers for the company's key outposts, though Hawke's Bay is one of the more prepared regions, he said.
"The Napier situation is not as serious as in Auckland or Tauranga, there is a good supply of containers available for Napier exporters and they are coping well with their relocation.
"Hawke's Bay is also better placed than many other locations regarding congestion. The main priority in Napier is to maintain supply for exporters and we are expecting to cope. It is tighter than we would like but we will get by."
Napier Depot Manager for ContainerCo, Steve Feyen and his team are hard at work during Alert Level Four Lockdown. Photo / Warren Buckland
The disruption in the flow of container relocation is being addressed by the company through improving their technology and adjusting their current approach.
"We have plans to improve the technology that we use and are introducing a decarbonisation programme to handle containers, which will increase our capacity by up to 30-40 per cent. We're keen to purchase more land in areas such as Hawke's Bay to expand our capacity as well."
