Friday, March 29, 2024

New ships strengthen ties

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Capacity for New Zealand’s kiwifruit exporting has received a significant boost with the commissioning of three new specialist vessels servicing Zespri markets.
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The first of the vessels arrived at Port of Tauranga late last month, owned by operator Fresh Carriers, Zespri’s long-time shipping partner.

The company freights 190,000 tonnes of NZ’s kiwifruit exports every year, or about 40% of this country’s total export production. The company supplies 35 vessels to Zespri throughout the season, largely shipping to North Asian ports.

The new vessel, named Kowhai after the gold kiwifruit it transports, will be followed by the Kakariki (green) and Whero (red), representing the full fruit portfolio from Zespri. The company gave NZ kiwifruit growers the opportunity to name the new ships.

Charter vessels have long formed a key part in Zespri transportation, enabling specific loading and timing of shipments to coincide with harvest volumes. The new vessel includes remote monitoring technology to gauge fruit quality in transit.

The ships will typically be loaded with secondhand cars from Japan, bananas and pineapples from the Philippines when they arrive in NZ.

Zespri global supply officer Alastair Hulbert says the charter vessel programme has been a significant contributor to the sector’s success, and continuity of supply over the covid crisis.

The departure of the Kowhai marks the second to last charter reefer vessel this season, stopping at Tokyo and Kobe.

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