By David PorterHamburg-Sud has become the second shipping line to confirm it will introduce a big ship service to Tauranga, taking advantage of the port's increased depth following its extensive dredging programme. "All of a sudden, instead of being on the end of North South service, we find ourselves becoming a key link between South America and North Asia." [Sidebar]The new Hamburg-Sud service was expected to dock on the same day as the existing Maersk service, but the recently announced takeover of Hamburg-Sud may eventually see some re-organisation of schedules, said industry sources. Danish-owned Maersk Line and Hamburg-Sud controlling shareholder Oetker Group announced last month that they had agreed on a takeover by Maersk. German company Hamburg Sud is the world's seventh largest container shipping line and a leader in the North - South trades.

Source: New Zealand Herald January 26, 2017 22:32 UTC