Pacifica Rolls Out New Container Vessel
Pacifica Shipping, New Zealand's coastal shipping company, is launching a new container vessel from March replacing a smaller vessel whose charter has ended, reports The Stuff.
The Spirit of Canterbury would provide greater capacity for customers including reefer cargo and replace the Spirit of Independence whose charter ended in December, says Steven Chapman, CEO of Pacifica.
The Spirit of Canterbury will have 1100 container capacity, 57 per cent more than the vessel it replaces. It would offer a dedicated weekly service from Auckland to Lyttelton to Nelson to Tauranga and back to Auckland.
The company was focused on having enough additional capacity, specifically from Nelson as part of the new export season. So the MV Ningpo would be used on the coast from today to ensure continuity of service in the meantime.
Pacifica Shipping has grown from a one ship service on the Lyttelton-Wellington route to become New Zealand's leading coastal operator. Since 1985 Pacifica Shipping has been an important part of New Zealand's transport infrastructure. For many years it has been the only New Zealand managed coastal shipping line outside of the Cook Strait moving general freight by sea between major North and South Island centers.
