The CMA CGM Group, easily in the top 10 shipping lines in the world, is offering seven ships on a weekly roster which are capable of carrying 1800 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) each, including two port calls in both the North Island and South Island.
DCB International director Mark Willis welcomed the move, saying the new service would be "hugely beneficial for Otago importers and exporters".
"The past year for available space has the the worst in 20 years for importers and exporters," Mr Willis said when contacted yesterday.
Between shipping giant Maersk, Port Chalmers' largest customer which has recently changed the size of ships visiting New Zealand, and Fonterra taking up to 25% of available export shipping space from New Zealand at times, space had been "very tight", he said.
Port Otago chief executive, Geoff Plunket, welcomed the new service, which would initially be fortnightly from Port Chalmers then move to weekly visits.
"It's a direct service to Malaysia and north Asia . . . good for both importers and exporters around Otago and the South," he said.
Mr Willis said, "About the time Maersk announced its plan, that was the beginning of the changing landscape for other lines to look at New Zealand."
Fonterra was now considering chartering its own vessels to move its vast amounts of dairy products around the world.
Mr Willis said while expecting a call a week at Port Chalmers, the service could be further enhanced if CMA CGM Group entered into "slot sharing" arrangements with other lines, where CMA CGM would carry competitors' cargoes.
CMA CGM said in a statement yesterday the port rotation would be Port Kelang, Chiwan, Shanghai, Pusan, Suva, Auckland, Port Chalmers, Lyttelton, Tauranga, Noumea, then back to Port Kelang.
The company claimed it now offered the fastest transit times from Asia to Suva, Fiji, and between Asia and New Zealand, with 17 days between Shanghai and Auckland and 16 days between Tauranga and Port Kelang.
Port Kelang in Malaysia would act as a hub to connect with CMA CGM's global network.
Tauranga would connect with the Panama direct service linking northern Europe, the US east coast, French Polynesia, Australia and the rest of New Zealand, which was mirrored by Auckland, with Pacific connections and US west coast destinations.
