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Abigail Dougherty / Stuff
Seven container ships waiting in the port of Waitematā next to the island of Rangitoto.
The global disruption to the supply chain caused by Covid-19 has led to a backlog of cargo ships anchored in the port of Waitematā as they wait to dock in the ports of Auckland.
Eleven cargo ships could be seen in a queue near Rangitoto Island at one point Saturday morning, far more traffic than North Shore residents are used to seeing on the water.
Ports of Auckland spokesman Matt Ball said there were only 11 anchorages on the site, and that was the only time he remembered that each one was occupied.
Included in Saturday’s fleet were six container ships, two general cargo ships, a car transport, and a ship full of bananas, aptly named Kōwhai (yellow).
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Covid-19 had caused “significantly disrupted supply chains around the world,” Ball said.
At the beginning of the year, container trade rates had been “pretty low,” as had car carriers, which were down about 75 percent.
But in the middle of the year he “came back in a hurry.”
“We have not been able to meet the job requirements,” Ball said.
Abigail Dougherty / Stuff
Container ships waiting in the port of Waitematā on the island of Rangitoto.
In March, during the calmest time of year in Auckland’s ports, the process of becoming New Zealand’s first container terminal to use automated straddle carriers to load and unload trucks and operate the container yard was scheduled to begin.
However, the Covid-19 alert level four lockdown prevented required foreign experts from entering the country, meaning ports now face implementation at the busiest time of the year, Ball said.
The Auckland City Council-owned company was trying to hire 50 new dockworkers. While it was “having some success,” it was a slow process.
I was hoping to have a new crane crew on board by Christmas.
Ironically, 50 longshoremen were laid off from the company when ports undertook partial automation of their container yard in 2016.
