Swire Shipping Extends South Pacific network

Swire Shipping, trading division of China Navigation Company, announced it will be entering a new vessel sharing partnership from New Zealand to Tonga, Samoa (Apia), Cook Islands and Fiji. This market leading service will depart every 10 days from Auckland.

“Swire Shipping has built up a strong reputation for itself as a market leader connecting the Pacific Islands to the world. Today’s launch will enable us to offer expanded global coverage into the Pacific Islands, as well as specifically providing New Zealand customers with a new direct service alternative. Our aim is to offer best in class and reliable services from all key trading countries and regions importing and exporting to the Pacific Islands,” said Jeremy Sutton, General Manager, Swire Shipping.

“We will be working closely with customers to not only offer a great shipping service, but also to explore opportunities for landside delivery in the Pacific Islands as well as offering innovative digital solutions,” Sutton said.

Swire Shipping will charter and deploy one vessel on the service; Matson will operate two vessels (currently MV Imua II and MV Olomana). The vessels are 8,000 dwt.  The new service will commence in January 2020.

Swire Shipping’s commitment to serving its customers in the South Pacific extends beyond its comprehensive network of offices.

In March 2018, its parent company, The China Navigation Company (CNCo) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Program to form the Moana Taka Partnership (MTP).

Under this partnership, CNCo vessels carry containers of recyclable waste from eligible Pacific island ports, pro bono, to be sustainably treated and recycled in suitable ports in Asia Pacific. In 2018, the MTP shipped 16 containers of recyclable waste out of Fiji and Marshall Islands.

Last November, CNCo and the University of the South Pacific (USP) inked an MOU to conduct feasibility studies for the design costs and plan for new generation ships for the Pacific region which is committed to low carbon sea transport.

Project Cerulean aims to eventually develop a new class of small cargo freighter, which, once proven to be commercially viable to operate, can be scaled up in numbers to provide a cost-effective solution for currently marginalized communities in the Pacific Island Communities and Territories (PICT).