Shipping to and from New Zealand

Your complete guide to shipping to and from New Zealand. Find the right route, get Maersk office locations, discover local solutions, payment options and more.

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Import

Get up-to-date local information about import procedures and restrictions, demurrage and detention, container pick-ups and more.

Document	Issuance Date
Document Arrival Notice*	Issuance Date 10 days prior to ETA
Document Import Invoice	Issuance Date 10 days prior to ETA
Document Delivery Order (EDO)	Issuance Date 9 Days prior to ETA (All pre-conditions Closed)
Document Carrier Sea Cargo Report	Issuance Date 72 Hours Prior to ETA

Check and request your Delivery Order through the Maersk.com Dashboard:

EDO request

It is important to note that to request EDO any interested party should be a release to party on the shipment. Authority written confirmation is required for this to be set up.**

View the status updates on your EDO pre-condition release tasks:

Bill of Lading Surrendered
Prepaid Charges Cleared at Origin
Collect Charges Cleared at Destination

Customers in New Zealand are offered Combined Detention & Demurrage for import shipments. This means you will have one combined free time period and compensation for the utilisation of equipment inside and outside of terminals or depots.
The Import Detention & Demurrage period in NZ is calculated starting on the container discharge date to the gate-in empty return date.
Container Free Time is the agreed period without fees offered to the customer from the container discharge date. Detention Fee – Import is applicable when the customer holds carrier equipment longer than the agreed amount of free time.
Free Time days are determined based on whether the booking was placed under SPOT, Contract or Tariff Terms & Conditions. The terms of your booking can be found under the Shipment Overview or the Arrival Notice Document.
The Import Free Time Calculator is available via the Dashboard to calculate how many free days apply to your shipment and the last free date before detention is incurred.

Tariff Import Detention & Demurrage

Direction: Import
Effective Date: 1st October 2019
Free Time: Calendar Day
Currency: NZD
Calculation Period: Inclusive of the discharge date to the gate-in empty return.
Free Time Days Offered: 7 Days

Container Type	Day 1-7	Day 8-20	Day 21+
Container Type 20' Dry	Day 1-7 Free	Day 8-20 NZD 80 per day	Day 21+ NZD 120 per day
Container Type 40' Dry	Day 1-7 Free	Day 8-20 NZD 160 per day	Day 21+ NZD 240 per day
Container Type 20' Reef	Day 1-7 Free	Day 8-20 NZD 130 per day	Day 21+ NZD 220 per day
Container Type 40' Reef	Day 1-7 Free	Day 8-20 NZD 260 per day	Day 21+ NZD 440 per day
Container Type 20' Specialised	Day 1-7 Free	Day 8-20 NZD 100 per day	Day 21+ NZD 160 per day
Container Type 40' Specialised	Day 1-7 Free	Day 8-20 NZD 200 per day	Day 21+ NZD 320 per day

Contract Detention & Demurrage

Contractual Free Time is applied to the booking if the Price Owner’s contract includes additional free days on top of the standard tariff free days.
Contracts must be applied to the booking prior to the collection of the first container under the release for the contractual free time days and rates to apply.

Separation of Terminal Storage

Terminal Storage is defined as the compensation for utilising the port, terminal or depot or inland container yard facilities. New Zealand port companies charge customers directly for storage compensation.
This allows a clear distinction of the compensation applied for utilising the port, terminal or depot facilities (Storage), and the compensation incurred for utilisation of equipment beyond the agreed free time days inside terminals or depots (Demurrage).

Public Holidays and Free Time

Maersk will offer extended import and export demurrage & detention free time during Public Holidays. This concession only applies where Public Holidays fall within a customer's agreed free time period and in such cases, the free time will be extended to include these days.

Date	Day	Description
Date 01-Jan-21	Day Friday	Description New Year’s Day
Date 02-Jan-21	Day Saturday	Description Day After New Year's Day
Date 06-Feb-21	Day Saturday	Description Waitangi Day
Date 02-Apr-21	Day Friday	Description Good Friday
Date 05-Apr-21	Day Monday	Description Easter Monday
Date 25-Apr-21	Day Sunday	Description ANZAC Day
Date 07-Jun-21	Day Monday	Description Queen’s Birthday
Date 25-Oct-21	Day Monday	Description Labour Day
Date 25-Dec-21	Day Saturday	Description Christmas Holiday
Date 26-Dec-21	Day Sunday	Description Boxing Day

Agent Authorisation

Consignees can nominate an Agent/ Freight Forwarder to receive import documents and act on their behalf.

**To set up the authorisations: email nz.import@maersk.com with your agent in CC.

Arrival Notices

The Arrival Notice is a courtesy document issued to alert customers of incoming shipments. The document can be downloaded from the Shipment’s Document tab or you can subscribe to Notifications to receive it via email.*

It is ultimately the Consignee’s responsibility to ensure they are aware of incoming shipments and to monitor the tracking status.

Invoices

The collect invoice is issued to the Consignee or nominated agent’s email address 10 days prior to ETA. An additional PDF copy is uploaded to MyFinance for easy 24/7 access.

Payment will be cleared up to 24 hours after the transaction if the BL or invoice number is reference in the payment description. For multiple invoice transactions you can submit your payment remittance and breakdown to nz.import@maersk.com.

NB) Remittance refers to bank remittances, not internal instructions for payment.

De-Hire Depots

Empty containers should be returned to the nominated depot on the EDO within the designated free time. A Drop Off surcharge may occur where the customer dropped off the empty container to a different depot.

Maersk Customs Services

Our Maersk Customs Services can help you manage the complexities of border controls and customs regulations. Partner with our team of experts and let us manage your brokerage needs.

To include Maersk Customs Services to your supply chain or view more information click here

Carrier Sea Cargo Report

Maersk as the carrier will submit the sea cargo report to NZ Customs for import shipments into New Zealand ports. The import manifest is reported 72 hours prior to the vessel’s first port of call into New Zealand.

Consignees that have not purchased Maersk’s Customs Brokerage service are responsible for lodging an Import Declaration with customs to clear their cargo.

Documentation Deadline for importing cargo to New Zealand

The information on the Bill of Lading must be finalised with Maersk 72 hours prior to the vessel’s first port of call into New Zealand. If Maersk does not receive the completed mandatory details within this timeframe, New Zealand Customs may refuse to discharge the containers at the destination port and impose infringement notice on offenders.

It is the responsibility of the shipper to ensure compliance with this deadline. Maersk New Zealand will not be held accountable for fines or penalties incurred due to shippers not forwarding complete documentation requirements in a timely manner, and will hold shipper liable for any delay, storage costs, fines or penalties incurred as a result.

Equipment Restrictions

45’ Container – Not Accepted in any New Zealand Port
20’HC Container – Not Accepted in any New Zealand Port

Due to rail tunnel height, the railing of High Cube containers is subject to confirmation. Please check with your booking agent when using High Cube containers. There is no restriction for the use of high cube containers for road carriage.

Weight and Measurement Limits

We will not accept a shipment over the allowed payload weight for the container.

ROAD: A surcharge may apply for containers with a VGM of greater than 25MT. If permits are to be obtained, additional costs may apply too.

RAIL: Max weight accepted for a 20ft on rail is 32.5MT VGM

Max weight accepted for a 40ft on rail is 35MT VGM

Transport Restrictions

Following are commodities which cannot move via Rail in New Zealand:

Break Bulk (BB)
Wheat/Grain
IMO (with prior approval only)
Out of Gauge (OOG) (with prior approval only)

Special Cargoes

Maersk does not accept LCL shipments to/from New Zealand.

Prohibited packing material

Soil
Peat
Raw, green or contaminated moss
Used sacking material
Hay
Straw
Chaff

Shipping Party - Consignee

Shipments must be consigned to a New Zealand registered business or be to the care of a New Zealand Freight Forwarder/ Agent. Maersk will not release cargo or documents to individuals operating without an NZBN.