Ravensdown embraces coastal shipping

"We are endeavouring to supplement road with coastal shipping, where the opportunity arises, to reduce our impact on climate change.

"It's a more efficient way to move product, takes truck off the road and reduces congestion," says Kidd.

She made the comments as New Zealand's newest addition to the coastal shipping fleet, the MV Rangitata, made her maiden voyage last month, carrying product for Ravensdown.

For its first journey, MV Rangitata took phosphate rock from Napier to Dunedin, then 2,000 tonne of superphosphate from Dunedin to New Plymouth.

Beyond this maiden voyage, Ravensdown will look to engage the vessel as required to move cargo into smaller ports - like Whangarei, Whanganui, Gisborne and Nelson.

The trip by ship reduced carbon dioxide emissions by an estimated 39 tonne when compared to moving the same volume of product by road.

Kidd says New Zealand has environmental commitments to meet.

"This is about New Zealand Inc., and on behalf of our farmer shareholdrs, we're happy to be doing our bit to respond to climate change. It is a visible demonstration of our commitment to reducing greenhouse gases as part of our sustainability targets."

The vessel is the newest addition for Coastal Bulk Shipping Ltd, one of four preferred suppliers in a $30-million government investment for coastal shipping funding through the National Land Transport Programme (NLTP) to improve domestic shipping services, reduce emissions, improve efficiency, and upgrade maritime infrastructure.

Ravensdown has used Coastal Bulk Shipping for many years. This is the first journey on their new vessel, which has a greater payload so offers additional benefits. The new ship can carry approximately 2,000 tonne of superphosphate, compared to the company's smaller 800-tonne vessel, Anatoki.

Ravensdown national logistics manager Ant Boyles says the co-op is willing to switch product transfers from road to sea when necessary.

“We all have a part to play in trying to be as efficient as we can. Coastal shipping gives us the opportunity to move our products around in a more greenhouse gas-efficient manner, and because this new vessel is bigger, we can do one ship movement instead of two.” Waka Kotahi worked with the wider freight industry – NZ Shipping Federation, Port Company CEO Group, National Road Carriers, KiwiRail, and Te Manatū Waka - Ministry of Transport – to select four applicants for coinvestment in new and enhanced coastal shipping services.

It is estimated the new services, once fully operational, will remove around 35 million kilometres of truck travel from New Zealand’s roading network every year, reducing wear and tear and improving safety for road users. The four preferred suppliers will jointly invest more than $60 million into the resilience of the overall freight supply chain, on top of the Government’s $30 million, and will each bring at least one additional coastal shipping vessel into service. In addition to the MV Rangitata for Coastal Bulk Shipping, being utilised by Ravensdown, the other three suppliers are Move International Ltd, Swire Shipping NZ Ltd, and Aotearoa Shipping Alliance.