Editing Transport in New Zealand (section)

==Water transport==
[[File:Mariposa Leaves Auckland Harbour.jpg|thumb|right|Mail steamer ''[[Mariposa (ship)|Mariposa]]'' casting off in Auckland in the 1880s, with a paddle steamer ferry in the foreground]]

New Zealand has a long history of international and coastal shipping. Both Maori and the [[New Zealand European]] settlers arrived from overseas, and during the early European settler years, coastal shipping was one of the main methods of transportation,<ref>[https://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-ArnNewZ-c14-7.html New Zealand's Burning: Overview of coastal shipping 1885] – Arnold, Rollo, Victoria Press, [[Victoria University of Wellington]], 1994</ref> while it was hard to move goods to or from the hinterlands, thus limiting the locations of early settlement.<ref name="TEARAROADS"/>

The two main islands are separated by [[Cook Strait]], {{convert|24|km|mi|0|disp=or}} wide at its narrowest point, but requiring a 70-km ferry trip to cross. This is the only large-scale long-distance car / passenger shipping service left, with all others restricted to short ferry routes to islands like [[Stewart Island / Rakiura]] or [[Great Barrier Island]].

New Zealand has {{convert|1,609|km|mi|0|disp=or}} of navigable inland waterways; however these are no longer significant transport routes.

===International shipping===
Historically, international shipping to and from New Zealand started out with the first explorer-traders, with New Zealand waters soon becoming a favourite goal for whalers as well as merchants trading with the Maori and beginning European colonies.

In the 19th century, one of the most important changes for New Zealand shipping — and for New Zealand itself — came with the introduction of refrigerated ships, which allowed New Zealand to export meat to overseas, primarily to the United Kingdom. This led to a booming agricultural industry which was suddenly offered a way to ship their goods to markets around the world.

Larger, deeper-draught ships from the middle of the 19th century made [[dredge]]s a common sight in shipping channels around New Zealand, and [[tugboat]]s were also often bought to assist them to the quays, where electric or hydraulic cranes were increasingly used for on- and off-loading. However, manpower was still needed in large amounts, and waterfronts were the hotbeds of the [[industrial action]]s of the early 20th century.<ref name="VICTORIAN">{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/ports-and-harbours/5|title=Ports and harbours – The Victorian era to 1960|encyclopedia=[[Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand]]|access-date=18 March 2010}}</ref>

In the 1970s, [[containerisation]] revolutionised shipping, eventually coming to New Zealand as well. The local harbour boards wrought massive changes on those ports selected (after much political wrangling) to handle the new giant vessels, such as [[Lyttelton, New Zealand|Lyttelton]] and [[Ports of Auckland|Auckland Port]]. [[Gantry crane]]s, [[straddle carrier]]s and powerful [[tugboat]]s were built or purchased, and [[shipping channel]]s dredged deeper, while large areas of land were [[land reclamation|reclaimed]] to enable the new [[container terminal]]s. The changes have been described as having been more radical than the changeover from sail to steam a century before.<ref name="MODERNERA">{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/ports-and-harbours/5|title=Ports and harbours – The Modern Era|encyclopedia=[[Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand]]|access-date=18 March 2010}}</ref>

However, containerisation made many of the smaller ports suffer, this being only later recovered somewhat with newer, smaller multi-purpose ships that could travel to smaller ports, and the loosening of the trade links with the United Kingdom, which diversified the trade routes. The time for river ports had gone however, and most of them disappeared, facing particular pressure from the new [[rail ferry|rail ferries]],<ref name="VICTORIAN"/><ref name="MODERNERA"/> In the 1980s, deregulation also involved and heavily changed the port industry, with harbour boards abolished, and replaced by more commercially focused companies. Many port jobs were lost, though shipping costs fell.<ref name="MODERNERA"/>

===Coastal shipping===
As noted above, coastal shipping has long played a significant role in New Zealand. It was very efficient for moving large amounts of goods, and relatively quick. In 1910, it was noted in a discussion with the Minister of Railways that a fruit grower at [[Port Albert, New Zealand|Port Albert]] (near [[Wellsford]], less than 150&nbsp;km from Auckland) had found it cheaper to ship his canned fruit to [[Lyttelton, New Zealand|Lyttelton]] in the South Island by boat, and thence back to Auckland again, rather than pay rail freight rates from nearby Wellsford to Auckland.<ref name="EARNINGS">{{cite news|title=Railway Earnings – A Ministerial Thunderbolt|url=http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=PBH19100610.2.25&srpos=45&e=-------10--41-byDA---2parnell+tunnel--|access-date=14 January 2011|work=Poverty Bay Herald|date=10 June 1910}}</ref>

The industry however also faced a number of troubled times as well, such as during World War II when ship [[requisitioning]] caused shortages in the transport operation.<ref>[http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2Econ-c15-31.html War Economy – Coastal Shipping] (from ''Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939–45'', BAKER, J. V. T.; Historical Publications Branch, Department of Internal Affairs Wellington, New Zealand 1965)</ref> While many ports reopened after the war, they (and coastal shipping in general) faced huge pressure from rail<ref name="VICTORIAN"/> (presumably now offering improved freight rates compared to the 1910 era).

After [[cabotage]] was abolished in 1994, international shipping lines became able to undertake coastal shipping as opportune to them on their international routes to New Zealand. While reducing the cargo reshipment rates for New Zealand industry, this is seen by some as a heavy blow for local competitors, who, specialised in coastal shipping only, are less able to achieve the costs savings of large lines – these can generally operate profitably even without cargo on New Zealand-internal legs of their routes, and are thus able to underbid others. The law change has been accused of having turned the New Zealand business into a '[[sunset industry]]' which will eventually die out.<ref>[http://www.nzsf.org/documents/TheCase.doc New Zealand Shipping] ([[Word document|DOC]]) (from the 'New Zealand Shipping Federation' website)</ref>

In the financial year 2003 / 2004 coastal cargo in New Zealand totalled around 8.6&nbsp;million tonnes, of which 85% was still carried by local, and 15% by overseas shipping.<ref>[http://www.transport.govt.nz/assets/PDFs/coastal_shipping_cargo.pdf Coastal Shipping Cargo – 2003/03] (from a [[New Zealand Ministry of Transport|Ministry of Transport]] report, March 2005)</ref>

In 2009, the National Party announced that funding for coastal shipping and supporting infrastructure, part of the "Sea Change" plan of the previous Labour government, would be cut to a substantial degree. The move was heavily criticised, amongst others, by the Green Party,<ref>''[http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0903/S00357.htm Shock funding cut to coastal shipping]'' – [[Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand]] press release, 25 March 2009</ref> and the [[Maritime Union of New Zealand]].<ref>''[http://www.munz.org.nz/node/351 Transport Unions say sole focus on road building in infrastructure package the wrong focus for New Zealand]'' – [[Maritime Union of New Zealand]] website.</ref>

In 2017/18 coastal shipping carried about 11 million tonnes, or roughly 4% of New Zealand's freight of 278.7 million tonnes and 30.1 billion tonne-kilometres. About 4 million tonnes is on the inter-island ferries. Tankers carried 2.7 million tonnes of oil, mainly from Marsden Point. About 2 million tonnes travelled between the container ports. 1.3 million tonnes of cement was carried. Most of the other million tonnes travelled on ferries to the smaller islands.<ref>{{Cite web |date=12 May 2021 |title=Coastal Shipping Investment Approach: Report 1 - State-of-Play |url=https://www.nzta.govt.nz/assets/resources/coastal-shipping-research/nzta-coastal-shipping-state-of-play-report.pdf |website=Waka Kotahi}}</ref>

===Ferry services===
[[File:Cookstraitferry.jpg|thumb|right|[[Interisland Line]]'s {{ship|DEV|Arahura}} in the [[Marlborough Sounds]]]]
Regular [[roll-on/roll-off]] ferry services have crossed [[Cook Strait#Transport|Cook Strait]], linking the [[North Island|North]] and [[South Island]]s between [[Wellington]] and [[Picton, New Zealand|Picton]], since 1962.<ref name="IPENZTG">''A Wheel on Each Corner'', The History of the IPENZ Transportation Group 1956–2006 – Douglass, Malcolm; [[IPENZ]] Transportation Group, 2006, Page 12</ref> Services are provided five ferries operated by two companies: [[Interislander]] (a division of [[KiwiRail]]), and Bluebridge ([[Strait Shipping]]). One ferry used by the Interislander, {{ship|DEV|Aratere||2}}, is a [[train ferry|rail ferry]] capable of transporting both road and rail on separate decks. The four remaining ferries carry passengers and road vehicles only: Interislander's {{ship|MV|Kaitaki||2}} and {{ship|MS|Kaiarahi||2}}, and Bluebridge's {{ship|MS|Strait Feronia||2}} and {{ship|MV|Connemara||2}}.

Depending on the vessel, usual transit time between the North and South Islands is 3 to 3.5 hours. Faster [[catamaran]] ferries were used by [[Tranz Rail]] and its competitors between 1994 and 2004. To reduce voyage times, [[Tranz Rail]] proposed to relocate the South Island terminal of its services to [[Clifford Bay]] in [[Marlborough Region|Marlborough]], which would also avoid a steep section of railway. This proposal has been shelved since the takeover by [[Toll Holdings]] in 2003.

Smaller ferries operate in the [[Bay of Islands]], the [[Hokianga|Hokianga Harbour]], the [[Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana]] and [[Waitematā Harbour]], [[Tauranga Harbour]], [[Wellington]], the [[Marlborough Sounds]], [[Lyttelton, New Zealand|Lyttelton]], between [[Bluff, New Zealand|Bluff]] and [[Halfmoon Bay (Stewart Island)|Halfmoon Bay]] on [[Stewart Island / Rakiura]], and elsewhere.

A passenger ferry service also operated for many years between Wellington and Lyttelton (the port closest to Christchurch). This service was operated by the [[Union Company|Union Steam Ship Company]], and the passenger ferries typically operated an overnight service, although in later years the last of these vessels, the [[TEV Rangatira (1971)|''Rangatira'']], operated alternate nights in each direction plus a daylight sailing from Lyttelton to Wellington on Saturdays (so as to get a balance of four sailings in each direction, each week). One of these passenger ferries, the [[TEV Wahine|''Wahine'']], was lost in a storm as it entered [[Wellington Harbour]] on 10 April 1968, with the loss of 51 passengers and crew. The final sailing of the Rangatira, which was custom built and entered service in 1972, was on 15 September 1976, after two money-losing years (subsidised by the government).{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}}

===Ports and harbours===
*Container ports: [[Ports of Auckland]] ([[Auckland]]), [[Port of Tauranga]] ([[Tauranga]]), [[Napier, New Zealand|Napier]], [[CentrePort Wellington]], [[Nelson, New Zealand|Nelson]], [[Lyttelton, New Zealand|Lyttelton]] ([[Christchurch]]), [[Timaru]], [[Port Chalmers]] ([[Dunedin]]), [[Bluff, New Zealand|Bluff]]
*Other ports: [[Whangārei]], [[Devonport, New Zealand|Devonport]] ([[Auckland]]), [[Gisborne, New Zealand|Gisborne]], [[New Plymouth]], [[Whanganui]], [[Picton, New Zealand|Picton]], [[Westport, New Zealand|Westport]], [[Greymouth]]
*Freshwater: [[Rotorua]] ([[Lake Rotorua]]), [[Taupō]] ([[Lake Taupō]]), [[Queenstown, New Zealand|Queenstown]] and [[Kingston, New Zealand|Kingston]] ([[Lake Wakatipu]]), [[Te Anau]] and [[Manapouri]] ([[Lake Manapouri]])

===Merchant marine fleet===
; Ships by type: Bulk 3, cargo 3, chemical tanker 1, container 1, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker 2 
:''total'': 15 ({{As of|2015|lc=on}})<ref name="statistics"/>

As of 2021 the current container ship is the 1700 [[twenty-foot equivalent unit|teu]] ''Moana Chief'', which is operated by Pacifica Shipping, a subsidiary of the [[China Navigation Company]],<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.pacship.co.nz/moana-chief-profile/ |title=Moana Chief Profile |publisher=Pacifica Shipping |access-date=21 September 2021}}</ref> and was introduced in 2019.<ref>{{cite press release |title=Pacifica Shipping to upgrade with larger vessel |url= https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU1908/S00206/pacifica-shipping-to-upgrade-with-larger-vessel.htm |publisher=Swire Shipping |date=7 August 2019 |via=Scoop |access-date=21 September 2021}}</ref>

==== History ====
Government subsidies were used to establish routes, or increase frequencies.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ocean mail-services |year=1904 |url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/AJHR1904-I.2.2.4.7 |work=Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives |access-date=2020-07-12 |via=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}}</ref> For example, in 1902 up to £30,000 a year was being offered to provide ships linking to specified South African ports.<ref>{{Cite news |date=28 January 1902|title=Steam service between New Zealand and South Africa |work= [[The New Zealand Herald]] |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH19020128.2.79.6|access-date=2020-07-12|via=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}}</ref>
The [[Merchant navy#New Zealand Merchant Navy|merchant marine was affected by World War 2]], but by 1950 the flagged fleet totalled 2,884.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Introduction|url=https://nzshipmarine.com/nodes/view/1428|access-date=2020-07-12|website=New Zealand Ship and Marine Society}}</ref>