The Govt’s $36m boost for coastal shipping could provide and economic lifeline for the Gisborne region as it battles to cope with the expected dramatic growth in timber exports. Eastland Group CEO, Matt Todd, says the strategy is a step in the right direction in terms of dealing with the enormous increase in volumes of timber projected to come out of the region over the next 15 years. With Gisborne’s port unlikely to attract major international shipping lines, he says the best option for economically and efficiently moving timber exports would be a regular service between Gisborne and the Port of Napier.
Unfair Competition. Todd says the projected harvest will rise from 1.2m to 3.5m tonnes of logs over the next 15 years. With 25% of this volume likely to be exported as added-value product, Gisborne will need to move 575,000 tonnes of additional processed timber product out of the region each year which would take more than 20,500 truck movements. “Boosting coastal shipping would go a long way towards reducing that sort of volume of trucks on the roads.”

He says coastal shipping was vital to the early economic prosperity the region with a number of now disused wharves having served coastal vessels but the mode of transport fell out of favour with the expansion of rail services and later roading networks both of which have been subsidised by the Govt “Coastal shipping doesn’t explicitly need a subsidy to survive, but it does need to be on a more level playing field with road and rail.”

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