Neptune Pacific swaps back tonnage

FOLLOWING completion of scheduled repairs to the 1,103 TEU NPDL Tahiti in Auckland the vessel will phase back into the AUSPAC service alongside partner Swire Shipping’s 1,368 TEU Takutai Chief.

Consequently, Capitaine Tupaia will return from temporary AUSPAC deployment to NZPAC, with facilitation of the swap having an impact on the INRAPAC and MICROPAC services too.

To facilitate this smooth transition, Neptune Pacific says the phase-in process will be as follows:

• Capitaine Tupaia 2618N will perform a northbound rotation to Suva and discharge any onboard cargo for Australia and Vanuatu (Port Vila and Santo) in Lautoka, before rejoining the NZPAC service.
• NPDL Tahiti 2618S will phase into AUSPAC in Suva on 26 August and perform a shortened southbound rotation of Suva — Lautoka — Port Vila — Sydney. It will pick up all Port Vila cargo discharged by the Capitaine Tupaia 2618N in Lautoka, plus all exports from Fiji to Port Vila and Australia.
• Alternative arrangements for cargo bound for Santo are being finalised and will be communicate to impacted customers directly.
• Capitaine Wallis 2609 will omit Funafuti and make an ad-hoc call to Santo.
• Southern Pearl 2607 will induce an ad-hoc Funafuti call.
• All Funafuti cargo originally booked on Capitaine Wallis 2609 will be transferred to Southern Pearl 2607.
• Both vessels will return to their normal rotations on the subsequent voyages.

To assist these changes meet cargo demand requirements, the following adjustments will be made to Neptune Pacific’s INTRAPAC and MICROPAC schedules for upcoming voyages:

“We recognise that the adjustments to our NZPAC and AUSPAC services have resulted in schedule and cargo disruption over the recent months,” the carrier said. “Throughout this period, we have worked to keep customers continually informed as our schedules have evolved and appreciate your continued support and understanding as we transition back to our regular rotations.”