Domestic shipping is tipped to go from sink to swim, prompting concerns about getting enough crew members
The shipping industry is anticipating a labour crunch when the new Government-bankrolled coastal shipping service gets up and running.
Around the globe, worker shortfalls, massive cargo backlogs and the Covid-19 pandemic have created a perfect storm. In Taiwan, government and shipping firms are teaming up to offer financial incentives to encourage young people to pursue careers in the shipping industry amid a severe labour shortage.
Back in New Zealand, Sealord is among the companies welcoming the funding for coastal shipping announced last week. This will see the Government pour $30 million into a domestic shipping service that aims to improve local supply chains and help move freight off the roads.
Sealord chief executive Doug Paulin hopes it will bring more certainty that a ship will turn up on time, so that the firm’s frozen goods aren’t left high and dry on the dock.
“It’s going to be a win for us because one of the biggest issues we’ve had is schedule reliability,” he says. “It puts us under pressure when we’ve got containers sitting on the wharf, ready to be picked up but the ship doesn’t turn up.”
He does have qualms, though.
Amid that global labour crunch, Sealord is already finding it hard to find staff for its fishing vessels. While that is different work to coastal vessels, he says the workforce is similar in that people need to be qualified and willing to go to sea.
The blue highway will not be up and running for at least a year, but Maritime Union of New Zealand spokesperson Victor Billot agrees there will be challenges when it does open.
“There are seafarers available now, but we’re going to be moving into a different scenario now, where it’s going to be a growing industry rather than a sinking one.”
One speed bump will be an ageing workforce. This is not a new issue, with a 2008 report flagging that one third of domestic sea freight workers were over 60.
Billot says there are also barriers to training, which he says can be expensive with only a few shipping operators available to train people.
The union is working to change that, and Billot thinks it's better to have these challenges than no revival of the coastal shipping network in sight.
“[Domestic shipping] had been worn down over the last 30 years because it had been put in this false competition with overseas vessels carrying all the cargo between New Zealand ports, which killed off local shipping.”
Aotearoa Shipping Alliance is one of the preferred suppliers for the scheme, alongside Coastal Bulk Shipping, Move International, and Swire Shipping NZ.
Alliance spokesperson Ray Mudgway admits that labour shortages will prove tricky, but he’s determined to rebuild New Zealand’s domestic shipping capacity.
“These are big challenges. It’s ambitious but with the right focus and the right people we’ll get it done."
