Shipping Services (Fiji) Expand Operations
DOING AWAY WITH CONTAINER COUNT LIMITATIONS, SAYS HONG-TIY
Shipping
Services (Fiji) has branched out to include door to door services to its business portfolio.
Managing director Bernard HongTiy said the company rolled out its expansion of the company’s role, two months. ago.
“We’ve rebranded and we’ve gone from just being a ship agent, to door to door logistics,” he said.
For every container brought in through agents the company represents, Shipping Services (Fiji) gets it customs cleared, and transported, he said.
The company joins a handful of other such service in that domain, Mr Hong-Tiy said.
“If you book with Shipping Services (Fiji), all ensuing services that happen to your cargo - from port to your door we do that as a one-stop shop,” he said.
Shipping Services (Fiji) is the local shipping agent for Maersk Line, the largest shipping line the world in terms of volume.
“We’ve had to do this also lately because Maersk Line themselves are moving into that space,” Mr Hong-Tiy said.
“Maersk now likes to call itself the world’s largest global integrator of logistics.
“It’s not just pine chips; its trucks, its customs clearance and clearances by security.”
Shipping Services (Fiji) has served Maersk Line as shipping agents for close to 20 years.
Tip the hat
Mr Hong-Tiy said the company shared some concern over the lack of direct shipping service to Australia following a conclusion to an initial agreement with a number of shipping lines
Mr Hong-Tiy applauded Swire Shipping for taking up the challenge to service the Australia and Pacific Island routes.
Swire Shipping earlier announced its decision to take up the route in a move that was applauded by Australia-related traders.
“That’s a good run, but tight they’re on their own,” he said.
Swire Shipping offered a turnaround time of 18 days for a host of destinations within the Australia Pacific Island route.
“There’s no quarantine for cargo,” Mr Hong-Tiy said.
“The ships will operate as normal because there’s no real close interface between landside and those on the vessel, they don’t get off the ship at all.”
Shipping Services (Fiji) has not had ships from its contracted line come in if for about eight years, Mr Hong-Tiy said.
“We’ve been slotting on Neptune,” he said.
“It’s really good, having our own ships.”
No more limitations
By virtue of the two large Maersk Line vessels servicing regular routes between Fiji and New Zealand, Shipping Services ( Fiji) no longer has to put up with container count limitations, he said.
“A lot of its water also for Neptune and Fiji Water,” Mr Hong-Tiy said of the type of cargo being shipped from Fiji.
Mahogany and frozen fish are among cargo leaving Fiji on some of the 800-plus containers that will be loaded for transhipment and for New Zealand, he said.
“The only thing is the world cargo traffic is congested at the moment, so we can only drip feed through the journeys.”
Mr Hong-Tiy said naming a Maersk Line vessel after a port in Fiji was a big victory for the liner.
The Maersk Nadi left Suva on Thursday night for the Queens Wharf, before she heads back to New Zealand.