MAERSK OPERATED VESSELS RETURNS TO FIJI, FIRST HERE
After a hiatus of seven years, the world’s largest integrated logistics company, Maersk, is returning to operate their own vessels into Fiji by committing two relatively large feeder vessels to service Suva and Lautoka, geared toward a fixed-day-call service.
Represented in Fiji by Shipping Services (Fiji) Pte
Ltd, Maersk will operate two 2500 twenty-foot container capacity vessels between Suva, Lautoka and Auckland, Tauranga, Nelson, Timaru and Lyttleton in New Zealand.
The service, named the Sirius Star Service is named after the twin stars Sirius, which pass over the Fiji group each evening.
Auckland based Head of Market for Maersk Oceania, My Therese Blank said the new Sirius Star schedule is an important component of the overall Maersk Oceania service, the main drive of which was to carry cargo between the Pacific, New Zealand and the world via transhipment hubs Tauranga and Auckland.
The first of the two vessels, the Seaspan Hannover made her inaugural call of the service into Suva yesterday afternoon.
Fiji Ports Terminal chief executive officer Hasthika Dela said being the largest shipping line in the world, it is hoped that Maersk will not only ship more cargo to and from Fiji but also increase competition in the market.
The second vessel in the service has been re-named the Maersk Nadi and is due to call Fiji next week.
Shipping Services Fiji chief executive officer Jeffrey Lin said the introduction of the service was significant given the congestive issues in world trade as a result of COVID-19, exacerbated by the recent blockage of the Suez Canal.
“We are proud to have a Maersk vessel named after the gateway to Fiji, the seat of our biggest foreign exchange earner tourism and an important vanua to the nation in a traditional sense., Mr Lin said.
The two vessels will operate in a combined weekly service between New Zealand and Fiji with the vessel Capitaine Tasman which is operated by Neptune Pacific Direct Line. >MAERSK SHIPPING SERVICES
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