Pacifica Shipping will soon take one of its two vessels providing coastal freight service to New Zealand out of service.

The company operates two container vessels — the MV Moana Chief and MV Takutai Chief — which move goods among several ports in New Zealand. Pacifica Shipping said it plans to pull the MV Takutai Chief from service, amid a months-long downturn in trade across the country, causing a maritime union to express fears that it will negatively affect the supply chain in New Zealand. 

In a statement released on July 29, the Maritime Union of New Zealand (MUNZ) said that although it "accepts the reason given" for Pacifica's decision, the union is concerned about what this means for the country's shipping industry. 

“This is a major blow to New Zealand shipping and our maritime workforce, and reduces the resilience and future security of our supply chain," MUNZ national secretary Carl Findlay said, adding that the lack of a local sustainable shipping industry in New Zealand "leaves us exposed and vulnerable in a volatile global market." 

Findlay asserted that the country needs to expand its coastal shipping capacity, and that failing to do so will lead to an exodus of skilled maritime workers to Australia. He also noted that coastal freighters provide crucial low-emission alternatives to trucks and trains.