Asia – Oceania Network Upgrade

We are excited to announce enhancements to our Asia-Oceania network, in response to the evolving global trade environment. Our new Asia / Oceania network will offer our customers a more efficient and reliable network covering China, Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia, New Zealand and Australia (primarily Sydney and Brisbane). By strengthening supply chain resilience and connectivity between China and New Zealand, these upgrades will better serve our customers' needs for improved speed, connectivity and predictability.

New Service Launch: Northern Star Service: Greater China Area to/from Oceania

We are pleased to introduce a new service to New Zealand, the Northern Star, as a premium product between Greater China Area and New Zealand. This reliable, standalone service offers improved speed and more direct connections between Australia, New Zealand, and East and South of China. Transit times start from 15 days, between Tauranga to Shanghai offering our customers a premium connection to New Zealand’s largest export and import market, Greater China Area.

Our Northern Star service provides direct coverage to and from New Zealand ports including Auckland, Nelson, Timaru, Port Chalmers, Napier, Tauranga. The Northern Star service is seamlessly connected to our global network through our key hubs Port Chalmers, Tauranga, Hong Kong, and Shanghai, enabling improved network flexibility by offering multiple connections across our service network.

Key Highlights:

• First Sailing: Maersk Innoshima 443S departing Shanghai on 21st October 2024
• Full rotation: Shanghai – Hong Kong – Brisbane - Auckland – Nelson – Timaru – Port Chalmers – Napier – Tauranga

Service Enhancement: Southern Star Service

To enhance our service between New Zealand and Southeast Asia, the Southern Star will continue with 5,900 TEU vessels and a new rotation: Tanjung Pelepas – Singapore – Sydney – Tauranga – Lyttleton – Port Chalmers. The removal of Napier from Southern Star allows for a greater schedule buffer, enhancing reliability and consistency to strengthen the overall customer supply chain experience. Meanwhile, Napier will be added to the new Northern Star service, providing direct access to Tauranga and the Greater China Area, ensuring more efficient and streamlined connections to key markets. This upgrade will enhance service reliability, maintaining seamless connections with our Northern Star, J Star, OC1, and PANZ services at both Port Chalmers and Tauranga.

• First vessel: Maersk Rio Bravo 444S departing Tanjung Pelepas on 3rd November 2024.

Service Adjustments: Triple Star and Polaris Services

With the launch of our new Northern Star Service, our intra Oceania service, Polaris, and our Triple Star service connecting New Zealand with Greater China area will be decommissioned to streamline our operations and enhance our offerings. The new Northern Star Service will replace the current Triple Star service on the Tauranga to China coverage. The route between Melbourne and New Zealand will now be covered by our existing PANZ and OC1 services, offering two weekly connections between Australia and New Zealand. This change is designed to meet current market demand while also supporting future growth opportunities.

• Last Triple Star sailing: Sally Maersk 443W from Tauranga on 20th November 2024
• Last Polaris sailing: Spirit of Auckland 445W from Auckland on 6th November 2024

If you have any questions regarding how these changes may impact your cargo, please feel free to reach out to your local Customer Experience Team via our Live Chat channel. Alternatively, you can refer to the following links for more details:

• Local information: https://www.maersk.com/local-information
• Schedule Information: https://www.maersk.com/schedules/

We sincerely appreciate your business and look forward to continuously serving your global transport and logistics needs.