Port of Napier made a record after- tax profit of US$6.54 million for the March half-year, despite "trying circumstances" when it was overwhelmed by containers during the peak rush for shipping.
The port was flooded with record numbers of containers. In the end, it did not have the space or resources to handle the volumes in the way customers expected, the port said, reported Dominion Post.
Napier Port chairman Jim Scotland said they would normally feel buoyant about the record half-year profit but it had faced trying circumstances in March for staff, suppliers and trucking firms, exporters and shipping lines.
March is the peak month of the port's trading year. Container traffic was 25 percent up on last March, and 19 percent higher than the previous record month.
"Severe constraints led to congestion, significant inefficiencies and additional costs," port chief executive Garth Cowie said. Many factors, some unforeseen, combined to put higher-than-expected pressure on terminal facilities.
However, Cowie said the issues were fixed quickly and April returned to "normality".
The port was now trying to increase its container terminal capacity to avoid a repeat of the logjam.
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