Two stevedore firms merge

Press, 4 November 1986, Page 1

Two stevedore firms merge

By

JEFF HAMPTON

New Zealand’s two biggest stevedoring companies, Seaport Operations and Union Maritime Services, have merged. The companies will form a new firm which will probably be known as the New Zealand Stevedoring Company, which will be represented at every port in New Zealand. Redundancies would result from the merger, said the general manager of Seaport, Captain Trevor Smith. “There is considerable duplication of resources at all ports.” However, Captain Smith said that he could not be more specific about redundancies until the man-

agements of both companies had met. Because of the merger, Lyttelton will have two instead of three stevedoring companies with offices in the port. Lyttelton sources say that at least seven employees of the Lyttelton branch of Seaport have been given notice. Captain Smith denied that merging the companies would reduce competition amongst stevedores. “We believe that competition will prevail — we do not believe in monopolies,” he said. The ports of Auckland and Tauranga were still serviced by five different stevedoring companies. Captain Smith said that

he believed the merger would result in increased efficiency in the stevedoring industry, something which had been called for in the recent report of the Ports Industry Review Committee. Traditional methods of cargo handling might also be reviewed. The board of the Union Shipping Group agreed to the merger at a meeting in Melbourne yesterday. The Union Company has now effectively taken over Seaport Operations, which was a subsidiary of Owens Investments, Ltd, an investment company Chaired by Mr Bob Owens. Owens Investments ■ has in turn increased shareholding in the Union Company.