New Zealand beverage company Invivo & Co Cofounders Rob Cameron and Tim Lightbourne sailed out a container ship waiting at anchorage to enter the port of Auckland to draw attention to the impact port congestion is having on importers and exporters that rely on the port.

Auckland’s operations have been heavily hampered by a labour shortage that has left it only able to operate two or three out of eight STS cranes in the peak import season leading up to Christmas. The situation has deteriorated to the point where some lines are dropping calls at Auckland and not loading Auckland bound imports at some origin ports.

“Invivo & Co currently have seven containers of Prosecco from Italy waiting to arrive in New Zealand, delayed by weeks. On the exporting side, Invivo has 14 containers of wine – all delayed by weeks – headed to international customers.  Delays and lack of container availability in New Zealand have been cited as reasons for the hold-ups,” the company stated.

“It’s been a tough year for so many New Zealand businesses – many of which will be missing out on sales in December, which is a key trading period.,” said Cameron. “Not only do we have customers here in New Zealand waiting for our stock but, also significant, is the impact the delays are having on our export business. The interruptions mean that it’s taking longer for our customers around the world – especially in key markets like the UK and USA – to receive NZ-produced wine, which has many implications in terms of invoicing, cash flow and even reputation when it comes to fulfilling orders with big retailers. Cargo ships leaving New Zealand are booked out months in advance and we think this is an issue that could have been avoided.”

“We are experiencing first-hand the issues the congestion at the ports are causing to our business and we realise that so many other New Zealand businesses must be in a similar position. Today was all about shining a light on an issue that we think needs urgently addressing by the ports,” added Lightbourne.