COVID-19 Updates - New Zealand

We would like to offer you our latest update on the outbreak of COVID-19 and any impact to Maersk’s operations in New Zealand.

Maersk leadership teams, as well as management in all other areas where cases of COVID-19 have been identified, are closely monitoring the situation as part of our strong commitment to ensure the safety of our employees whilst working towards mitigating any possible impact to our customers’ operations.

Please bookmark this advisory page where you will always find the latest update for New Zealand!

21 April 2020:

General Status

Following the decision by the New Zealand Government to reduce the country’s COVID-19 response to Alert Level 3 effective from Monday the 27th April at 23.59, we would like to inform our customers that we will be reopening the front counter at our Maersk Auckland office on 2 Graham Street, Auckland CBD effective from Tuesday 28th April. The Auckland front counter will be open for documentation purposes from 09.00 to 16.00 Monday to Friday.

Our business continuity plan remains activated, with the majority of our office based staff still working from home, to protect the health and safety of our people while maintaining our business activities and continued operation. Our standard channels of contact: Maersk.com, Phone, E-mail and Chat remain open. We recommend restricting phone calls to urgent enquiries and support only, and instead use our chat channel and self-service on Maersk.com to the maximum extent possible.

We remain dedicated to supporting your business during these extraordinary circumstances and we encourage you to reach out to your local sales or customer service representative to discuss your business needs.

To make it easier for you to manage any situations remotely, we have the below recommendations

Exports Related

• If possible, move to handling shipments via waybills.
• In case you do require original Bills of Lading, we will be happy to assist with the below options
  • Collection of original Bills of Lading by courier (only) from our contingency location within Auckland City.
  • Collection of original Bills of Lading from our closest office in Melbourne, Australia.
  • Perform an “electronic release” of Bills of Lading – where we will keep the original Bills of Lading with us and allow release of cargo to the consignee / nominated party on your request alone.

Import Related

• Surrender of original Bills of Lading would need to be done at our contingency location in Auckland City, alternatively at our Maersk office in Melbourne, Australia.
• Please share details of any payments made with us via e-mail – that is, any proof of payment such as a scanned copy of cheques deposited, electronic funds transfer receipts, etc.
• Delivery order requests can be raised via our self-service portal, Maersk.com

Temporary Import Process for cargo to MetroPort Auckland

Essential Cargo

• Importers are required to submit a booking request via ShuttleSelect directly to the Port of Tauranga for any cargo classified as essential service, to enable transportation from the Port of Tauranga to MetroPort Auckland. The booking request needs to be submitted before vessel arrival to Port of Tauranga and should be done basis further inland distribution in MetroPort having been arranged.
• Port of Tauranga is extending the import dwell time to 72h, from current 36h, to allow transport companies to arrange pick up for essential cargo. Post this, the Ports standard demurrage terms will apply.

Non-essential Cargo

• For non-essential cargo, booking should not be made via ShuttleSelect. Any cargo that is not booked for transport via the Port of Tauranga’s Shuttle Select platform prior to vessel arrival will automatically be classified as non-essential cargo and be transferred to block stacks to limit impact on terminal operations. Its important to note that Port of Tauranga will not be able to access the cargo in the block stacks for delivery to either MetroPort or TCT on an on demand basis. Instead, cargo that is placed into block stacks will be moved on rail to MetroPort on a “when Capable” basis.
• The Port of Tauranga will not charge dwell for non-essential cargo, retained in block stacks at The Port of Tauranga until the 26th of April. A one off charge of $85 will be charged for any container that is transferred into block stack directly by Port of Tauranga.

Temporary terms for detention and booking cancellation fees

In response to the increased COVID-19 Alert Level in New Zealand, we will be implementing Temporary Terms to the Maersk New Zealand Import and Export Detention Tariff and our New Zealand Booking cancellation fee policy for standard bookings. Effective from 26 March 2020 to 23 April 2020, the following temporary terms will apply in an effort to support our customers

• New Zealand Import and Export Detention: we will waive the detention incurred effective from 26 March 2020 to 23 April 2020
  Please note: The standard tariff free time and/or customer specific free time will not be added in addition to the detention waiver period and the clock will start to count as per standard terms.
• Standard Booking - New Zealand Booking Cancellation Fee: we will offer you the option to postpone the departure date from New Zealand to an alternative date free of charge. No booking cancellation fee will be applied to booking amendments for bookings with departure between 26 March 2020 and 23 April 2020. Should you wish to cancel the booking, the standard booking cancellation fee will be applied in full.
• MaerskSPOT bookings - New Zealand Booking Cancellation Fee: The booking cancellation fee will be applicable as per standard terms and conditions for Maersk SPOT bookings.

Temporary cut-off times at Ports of Auckland

In order to comply with the Port of Auckland’s revised timeline for cargo receival cut-offs, we will be changing our cargo receival cut-off times at the Ports of Auckland, effective immediately.

PORT : Auckland

Our standard channels of contact: Maersk.com, Phone, E-mail and Chat remain open. We recommend restricting phone calls to urgent enquiries and support only, and instead use our chat channel and self-service on Maersk.com to the maximum extent possible.

We will continue to keep you regularly updated on the situation which can change very fast depending on local regulations and the release of updated government guidelines.

Should you have any concern and/or queries, please feel free to contact your Maersk Local Representative, we will be happy to assist you.

Keep your business moving during the COVID-19 situation

We have outlined solutions which might help during this uncertain time. We are developing alternative services across the logistic chain where possible and our customer service teams are able to provide more context.

Learn more about how we keep your business moving