By Dale Crisp
Australian shippers will once again gain direct cargo access to Norfolk Island (officially an Australian external territory) with Pacific Direct Line and Neptune Pacific Shipping to resume a direct service at the end of September.
For the past two years the partners have been feeding Australian NI cargo to Auckland where it has been transhipped to the small vessel Southern Tiare, which has alternated between servicing NI and the Chatham Islands. However, this vessel has suffered repeated mechanical problems and is currently once again under repair.
PDL and NPS will now reverse operations, feeding NZ (and also Melbourne and Sydney) cargo to Brisbane where it will be loaded on NPS's Capitaine Quiros which will call at NI every 45 days. Works to extend Cascade Pier on NI are expected to be completed in November.
Ahead of the new arrangements and in light of the chartered Southern Tiare being unable to undertake its scheduled voyage the NZ-Tahiti trade vessel Southern Trader ex-Auckland has been diverted to make a special NI call 21-24 August.