Northport logs Asia-bound

By Graeme Kennedy

Friday 21st June 2002

UP AND RUNNING: Marsden Pt's new $50 million deepwater facility has handled its first ship

The new $50 million deepwater facility at Marsden Pt handled its first ship this week, a Carter Holt Harvey chartered vessel with a full cargo of Northland logs for Asia.

Northport, a joint venture between the Northland Port Corporation and Port of Tauranga, will be officially opened later this year but Carter Holt Harvey ships will continue to call regularly to move timber to its markets in Hong Kong, China, Japan and throughout Southeast Asia.

The log ship Royal Forest, one of more than 10 CHH is chartering for the trade through its logistics division Lodestar, was the first vessel to use the port. Lodestar started in 1999 and operated as Fibre Logistics until its recent name change.

Northport, one of New Zealand's deepest ports with 13m of water, was established at Marsden Pt primarily to handle the region's fast-growing log export trade.

Northport Services, the company responsible for port operations, is owned by the corporation, Tauranga and CHH.

The Royal Forest loading was handled by International Stevedoring Operations (ISO), the independent watersiders' company which is CHH's exclusive supplier and the only stevedore at Marsden Point.

ISO was started in 1994 and now works six North Island ports and five in the South Island, where it trades as Mainland Stevedores.

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