Better results expected from Ports of Auckland, mayor says

AUCKLAND: Better results are expected from Ports of Auckland this year ‘‘in a range of areas’’, Auckland Mayor Phil Goff’s office says.

Mr Goff was asked what he and the council expected from the port board under new acting chairman Bill Osborne, who took up the job this week after Liz Coutts retired.

The Auckland Councilowned ports container terminal has been choked since September, creating lengthy delays in berthing ships and unloading imports, pressure on the North Island freight supply chain and empty warehouses and store shelves.

Port management has attributed the congestion to the effect of Covid19 on global shipping schedules and a stevedore labour shortage, but frustrated sector players blame the port’s failure to implement an automation project started in 2016, and to manage container volumes.

These increased markedly when airline freight capability plunged with the pandemic. The congestion at the country’s main import gateway is expected to continue well into the year.

Asked this week if Mr Goff had confidence in port chief executive Tony Gibson, senior management and the port board of directors, the mayor’s office said: ‘‘The mayor and council have concerns about the port’s performance in a number of areas’’.

Of the expectations of acting chairman Mr Osborne, it said: ‘‘Council expects the POAL board to exercise effective governance over the management of the port to achieve better results in a range of areas.’’

Meanwhile, Mr Goff and his deputy, Bill Cashmore, have written to the port asking the company to commission an independent review of the automation project when fully implemented.

After delays last year, attributed to Covid19, the port said the project would be fully implemented by the end of March. The latest advice is that, because of freight taking operational priority, the final terminal work should begin in April but this was subject to several factors.

The letter, which says the council expects to have input on the terms of the review, was written to Ms Coutts on January 12.

Mr Goff’s office said it had yet to receive a response.

Mr Goff’s office told the Herald that ‘‘notwithstanding the impact of Covid19’’, the council was concerned about ongoing delays in completing automation ‘‘and this has been clearly conveyed to the board on a number of occasions’’.

Asked to comment on the port company reducing its 202021 targets for crane and ship rates in its revised statement of corporate intent, Mr Goff’s office said once automation was fully implemented the ‘‘council expects POAL to improve its performance and set more ambitious targets’’. — The New Zealand Herald