Stevedoring & Ports NZ Inc

As an industry Stevedoring activities go back to the beginning of New Zealand and the first wharf's in each port city. Most cargo was moved by manpower and block and tackle in those days. Take a look at our “Days Gone By” visual PDF to see more on this.

The nature of the cargo was also loose cargo which evolved over the years to finally seeing containerization of New Zealand ports in the early 1970’s and the first container ship to visit on the 19th of June 1971 in Wellington and visiting other ports over the following 8 days.

Stevedoring & Ports NZ Inc. is the industry association representing companies involved in stevedoring activities throughout New Zealand ports and was founded in 1976 for this purpose under its previous name of the NZ Stevedoring Employers Association.

The best publication to highlight fully the history of the Stevedoring and Ports industry is “The Saltwater Highway” written by Gordon McLauchlan and available through good book stores.

As the industry has evolved over the years encompassing many operational activities, in 2016 the Stevedoring and Ports Association of New Zealand voted at their annual conference to change the name of the Association to the Ports Industry Association. The members felt that the name change better suited the changing nature of the port industry and encompassed the many different employers and operations that are conducted every day at all ports around New Zealand.

Its membership includes virtually all independent stevedoring companies, port companies & container park companies.

The association has a strong commitment to training, improving safety standards and safe operational processes