Talk of moving port ‘ridiculous’

A leading automotive industry figure hopes vehicle imports will continue coming through Ports of Auckland for many decades to come and has labelled plans to relocate such operations as “ridiculous”.

David Vinsen, chief executive of the Imported Motor Vehicle Industry Association (VIA), says calls to relocate freight operations out of Auckland and to Northport are purely politically driven.

The Upper North Island Supply Chain Strategy (UNISCS) has advocated for the Northland site to take over vehicle imports from Ports of Auckland Ltd (POAL).

Such a plan has drawn opposition from VIA, the Motor Industry Association (MIA), and the Motor Trade Association (MTA). 

Vinsen, pictured, says: “Talk of moving the port is ridiculous. The whole issue is just stupid. It’s floundering around and trying to deal with a noisy minority of people who think they have some right to the harbour. 

“The city is where it is because of the port, it’s not the other way round. Maritime cities are built because they are ideal ports. 

“Things can change over time, but from a logistics point of view you discharge your import goods as close to your largest market as you can.”

The government will decide the future of POAL, which has enough predicted capacity for about 30 years before major expansion is needed.

A report commissioned by the government has dismissed the Northport plans and recommended a new port in Manukau Harbour in south Auckland as the best option. It also considered the Firth of Thames, Port of Tauranga, and Northport and Tauranga sharing the load.

Huge costs

Vinsen is among many in the automotive industry to welcome the report by the Sapere Research Group but retains concerns about its recommendations

“Manukau is not far away, but we have got a narrow channel there that would need to be dredged to allow us to bring in large ships and there is also the problem of the bar at the harbour’s entrance,” he explains. 

“There are physical difficulties in trying to bring ships into Manukau and we don’t know if the shipping companies would even want to negotiate those.

“Manukau is close to south Auckland and the centre of where most used-imported vehicles go. If the port were to end up there, then the industry will do whatever we have to do and we will make the adjustments that are needed. 

“However, I can’t see any real advantage of relocating the port because of the huge capital costs it would involve.”

Vinsen predicts POAL won’t be going anywhere in his lifetime and expects it to keep handling vehicle imports for many more years to come.

“Auckland is an import port and Tauranga is an export port because of need and pragmatic convenience,” he says.

“The Ports of Auckland has done projections that show it can sit on the same footprint of land and – with increasingly modern technologies and equipment – still service the import demands for a much larger population than Auckland has now.

“Even with the best will in the world, it will take 20 years to get resource consent and who knows how long to get the infrastructure built for any new port.”

To read more about the reaction to the Sapere report, click here.