PACIFIC container carriers Matson and Swire Shipping, a unit of China Navigation, have entered into a vessel-sharing agreement to end competition to serve the South Pacific islands, reports American Shipper.
Swire Shipping will charter and deploy a vessel on the new service meanwhile, Matson will deploy the Imua II and the Olomana. Both ships are 8,000 deadweight and the new service will begin in January.
The service will depart Auckland and will serve Tonga, Samoa (Apia), the Cook Islands and Fiji with a departure from Auckland every 10 days.
"Today's launch will enable us to offer expanded global coverage into the Pacific Islands, as well as provide New Zealand customers with a new direct service alternative. We will be working closely with customers to explore opportunities for landside delivery in the Pacific Islands as well as offering innovative digital solutions," said Swire Shipping general manager Jeremy Sutton.
That's somewhat surprising as the trade is largely a low-margin, one-way grocery trade and there have, historically, sometimes been problems for shipping lines in getting their containers back post-delivery of cargo.
Visitors to some South Pacific Islands have observed containers being repurposed into mobile storage, mobile refrigeration for cafes and an animal shelters. said the report. Meanwhile, executives from independent carriers working in the South Pacific have also traditionally been fearful of Matson's entry into the South Pacific trade.
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