A new Cook Strait link will become available next year when MOVE Logistics Group  opens a gateway between Nelson and New Plymouth.

Move is accelerating its Oceans strategy by entering a funding agreement for $10 million of co-investment from Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency. It’s part of the $30m package announced in May by Minister of Transport Michael Wood for coastal shipping funding through the National Land Transport Programme (NLTP) to improve domestic shipping services, reduce emissions, improve efficiency and upgrade maritime infrastructure.

Waka Kotahi worked with the wider freight industry to select four applicants for co-investment in new and enhanced coastal shipping services through the NLTP.

Along with MOVE, the other successful applicants are Coastal Bulk Shipping Ltd, Swire Shipping NZ Ltd and Aotearoa Shipping Alliance.

Currently, the only options available for moving rolling stock between the North and South Islands are via the Cook Strait ferries which operate between Wellington and Picton. These vessels require linkspan/ramp operations for loading and unloading cargo and the vessel ramp configurations mean that these ships cannot berth at standard cargo wharves.

The new MOVE service will be capable of calling into at least 13 New Zealand ports, without the need for any new port infrastructure to be built. MOVE will now progress with the acquisition, refitting and mobilisation of a quarter-ramp Roll On/Roll Off (RORO) vessel, with the first sailing expected to be in 2023.

“This new initiative further reinforces MOVE’s position as a leading provider of innovative freight solutions in New Zealand,” says Executive Director of MOVE, Chris Dunphy.

“We will be working closely with our Freight and Contract Logistics customers and other businesses to offer blue-water alternatives to trucking. The quarter-ramp Roll On/Roll Off vessel service is unique and will be an industry first for coastal shipping in New Zealand.”

Move estimates the sailing time between New Plymouth and Nelson is 15 to 16 hours which compares to a driving time of 13 to 14 hours (including ferry sailing time of 3.5 hours).

The driving time savings derived from the initial Nelson-New Plymouth service will deliver far greater efficiency in driving hours – a valuable benefit at a time when the New Zealand freight industry is facing significant driver shortages.

As an example, under the new MOVE Oceans service, a driver could drive from Auckland to New Plymouth, drop off a unit to be shipped south to Christchurch, pick up a unit that has come north from Christchurch via Nelson and return to Auckland within one shift. MOVE says this is far more efficient than the current system where one driver drives the length of the country from Auckland to Christchurch and returns.

The service will be used by the MOVE Logistics truck fleet and will be available to external users on a pre-booked basis.

In addition to the operational benefits, the shift of existing loads from road to shipping will deliver carbon emission reductions estimated at 2,000 tonnes per annum.

“Each of these four selected suppliers will bring at least one additional coastal shipping vessel into service, and together this will improve the resilience of the overall freight supply chain,” says Michael Wood.

“The four preferred suppliers will invest over $60 million through their proposals, resulting in combined investment in the sector of over $90 million.”

When the new services are fully operational, it is estimated they will remove around 35 million kilometres of truck travel from New Zealand’s roading network every year and will also support the recently released Emissions Reduction Plan to reduce emissions from freight transport by 35% by 2035.