New vessel welcomed into Zespri fleet
The kiwifruit industry has been boosted by three specialised reefer vessels, the first of which arrived at Port of Tauranga last week. MV Kowhai started loading 4219 tonnes of Zespri produce for its maiden kiwifruit voyage to Japan.
Zespri chief global supply officer Alastair Hulbert joined the commemoration event with industry colleagues at the port and was pleased to mark the start of the vessel’s working life.
“Zespri is committed to building lasting relationships with our partners around the world and the New Zealand kiwifruit industry has benefitted immensely from the partnership we’ve forged with Fresh Carriers and their New Zealand-based agents, Oceanic Navigation, over the last 30 years.
“Safely and quickly transporting our fruit to market is critical, and our charter vessel programme has been a significant element of our industry’s success, including the service that Fresh Carriers provides to our north Asian ports, and also in response to the outbreak of Covid-19 this year.”
Hulbert said they were looking forward to seeing the ship deliver fruit in the years ahead.
In recognition of the fact kiwifruit would be the main cargo, Fresh Carriers provided the kiwifruit industry with the opportunity to name the three new ships.
Former grower Lynda Hawes’ suggestion of Kowhai was selected, symbolising the golden kiwifruit that continues to strengthen the bond between New Zealand and Japan, with the remaining two ships to be named Kakariki (Green) and Whero (Red), ensuring a full spread of Zespri’s portfolio of golden, green and red kiwi.
Oceanic Navigation director Bruce Nisbet was delighted to see the MV Kowhai berth in New Zealand and said the new vessels would play a significant role in shipping increasing volumes of New Zealand-grown kiwifruit.
“Each year Fresh Carriers transports around 190,000 tonnes of kiwifruit . . . we’re pleased to deliver the first of our three brand new vessels that will ship fruit to some of Zespri’s top Asian markets,” Nisbet said.
“The new vessels can ship more trays of kiwifruit through a higher deck, and the engines are built to the latest standards in fuel efficiency. New technology in the vessels also enable remote monitoring of fruit conditioning.”
Fresh Carriers supplied 35 vessels to ship Zespri kiwifruit to key north Asian ports this season, which was about 30 per cent of this season’s fruit.
Fresh Carriers president Takao Takeshige was honoured to have worked with Zespri and the New Zealand kiwifruit industry for the past 30 years.
“Despite the current disruption caused by Covid-19 around the world, Zespri has had a successful season which convinces us that the decision to build the new ships for Zespri has been the right one.”
Kiwifruit Growers Inc chief executive Nikki Johnson said the investment made by Fresh Carriers is a great example of what was required right across the supply chain to ensure that infrastructure can meet forecast supply and demand levels.