Pacific Forum Line Trade Notice: Australia – Terminal and Equipment Handling Charge Increases
Dear Valued Customer,
Please be advised that due to recent cargo handling rate increases by Australian ports and container
depots we will be adjusting our Australian import and export charges effective from the 1st of May
2025.
The revised rates for Terminal and Equipment Handling Charges are as follows:
We thank you for your continued support and should you have any further questions, please contact
your local Quay or PFL representative.
Sincerely,
PFL
Pacific Forum Line Trade Notice: PFL Vehicle Transportation Policy Revision
Dear Valued Customer,
With the significant increase in international trade of lithium battery powered electric vehicles (BEV/
HEV/ PHEV/ FCEV), we have revised our existing vehicle transportation policy. The goal of this policy
revision is to improve safety and simplify dangerous goods classification for our customers.
Vehicle DG Classifications:
We would like to emphasise it is mandatory for all vehicle shippers to adhere to the following
guidelines when booking with PFL:
- Flammable liquid powered vehicles (both new and used) shall be declared as dangerous
goods under UN3166/class 9, unless they meet the requirements outlined in the IMDG Code
Special Provision 961 (noted below) - Vehicles powered by Lithium batteries (BEV) shall be declared as dangerous goods under
UN3171/class 9. No special provisions or exemptions are allowed (NEW vehicles only) - Hybrid vehicles with Lithium batteries (PHEV/ HEV/ FCEV) shall be declared as dangerous
goods under UN3166/ class 9. No special provisions or exemptions are allowed (NEW
vehicles only)
Please note: while we ship used petrol and diesel powered vehicles we only accept NEW cars if they
contain lithium batteries (BEV/ PHEV/ HEV/ FCEV).
Special Provision 961:
Meeting one of the following two conditions may cancel the need for a dangerous goods
declaration. If in doubt, please contact your PFL representative.
- Vehicles powered by a flammable liquid fuel with a flashpoint of 38°C or above, there are no
leaks in any portion of the fuel system, the fuel tank(s) contains 450 L of fuel or less and
installed batteries are protected from short-circuit. - Vehicles powered by a flammable liquid fuel with a flashpoint less than 38°C, the fuel tank(s) are
empty and installed batteries are protected from short circuit. Vehicles are considered to be
empty of flammable liquid fuel when the fuel tank has been drained and the vehicles cannot be
operated due to a lack of fuel. Engine components such as fuel lines, fuel filters and injectors do
not need to be cleaned, drained, or purged to be considered empty. The fuel tank does not
need to be cleaned or purged.
If a shipper declares under SP961 they are to supply a signed PFL Letter of Indemnity (LOI)
confirming they have adhered to the condition applicable for their vehicle.
If a vehicle is travelling on a 3rd party vessels under PFL control, the shipper may be required to sign
and additional LOI for the 3rd party carrier.
Vehicles are defined under the IMDG Code as:
Self-propelled apparatus designed to carry one or more persons or goods. Examples of such vehicles
are cars, motorcycles, scooters, three- and four-wheeled vehicles or motorcycles, trucks,
locomotives, bicycles (pedal cycles with a motor) and other vehicles of this type (e.g. self-balancing
vehicles or vehicles not equipped with at least one seating position), wheelchairs, lawn tractors, self-propelled farming and construction equipment, boats and aircraft.
We thank you for your continued support, should you have any further questions or queries please
contact your Quay or PFL representative.
Sincerely,
PFL
Pacific Forum Line Trade Notice: NZPAC – Schedule Rectification for voyages 0507/0508/0509 and onwards
Dear Valued Customer,
Please be advised that due to ongoing berth congestion in New Zealand and the
Islands, we have taken the following actions to rectify the schedule and bring the
vessels back to their proforma windows:
- Capitaine Tupaia 0507 will perform a truncated voyage of Tauranga –
Auckland – Suva – Lautoka – Nukualofa – Tauranga. All cargo booked for Apia &
Pago Pago will be transferred to the Capitaine Tasman 0508. - Capitaine Tasman 0508 will omit Suva and call Pago Pago instead of
Nuku’alofa on this voyage. Suva imports will be transferred to the Captain
Tupaia 0507 or the PFL Matai 509. Suva exports will be positioned to Lautoka
on the Tupaia 0507. - PFL Matai 0509 will call Nuku’alofa instead of Pago Pago to maintain
fortnightly frequency to Tonga. All forward voyages will have their Nuku’alofa
and Pago Pago calls swapped.
The forward schedule for NZPAC is as follows. It will be reflected in our port-to-port schedules tomorrow and published schedules on Monday evening.
We thank you for your continued support, should you have any further questions or queries please contact your PFL or Quay representative.
Sincerely,
PFL
Tropical Cyclone Alfred Update
To our valued customers,
Please be advised that our Brisbane office has re-opened, though most staff are working from home.
All departments are operational however due to power outages and network disruptions our services and response times may be affected. We will do our best to respond to all emails as quickly as possible.
Brisbane terminals and empty parks have resumed operations, however delays may be expected.
Vessel schedules are under review, and we will advise customers of updated schedule arrangements as they are finalised.
We appreciate your patience and understanding during this time.
From the Quay Shipping team, we hope everyone stays safe - if we can assist in anyway, please do not hesitate to reach out.
PFL Trade Notice: PNG Bunker Adjustment Factor effective from 1st April 2025
Dear Valued Customers,
PFL wishes to advise the Bunker Adjustment Factor (BAF) applicable on all northbound shipments
from Australia and New Zealand to Papua New Guinea will be as follows:
Above will apply for any consignments showing a PFL Bill of Lading date on/after 1st of April 2025.
Thank you for your continued support, should you have any further questions or queries please
contact your PFL representative.
Sincerely,
PFL
Tropical Cyclone Alfred Update
To our valued customers,
Due to the changing weather conditions, all Brisbane offices will be closed on Friday 7th March & Monday 10th March.
As previously advised, due to potential power outages and network disruptions, our services and response times may be affected.
We appreciate your patience and understanding during this time.
Please see below latest industry updates:
Terminals have ceased operations, planning to resume on Monday 10th March - weather dependent
Empty Container Park closures are in effect - depots will independently assess when they will resume operations.
We will continue to monitor the situation, and will advise of any further impact updates.
Quay Customer Service
Pacific Forum Line Trade Notice: AUSPAC – NPDL Tahiti 2506 – Brisbane Omission
Dear Valued Customer,
We regret to advise the omission of Brisbane on NPDL Tahiti 2506 due to current Port Closures and
subsequent berth congestion expected (delay of at least 5 days) in Brisbane, on account of Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
All exports from Brisbane will be transferred to either:
- The ANL Tasman Trader 2511 (ETA Brisbane 14-Mar) and transshipped in Auckland onto the
NZPAC service Capitaine Tasman 0508 for onward carriage to Fiji, Samoa, American Samoa
(PFL Matai 0509), Tonga or outer islands. - The next Arkadia 2507 (ETA Brisbane 19-Mar)
For Brisbane imports on the NPDL Tahiti 2504S, our customer services team will advise on the
alternative arrangement in due course.The forward schedule is as follows:
Thank you for your continued support and should you have any further questions, please contact
your local PFL representative.
Sincerely,
PFL
Tropical Cyclone Alfred Update
To our valued customers,
Please be advised that our Brisbane offices will be closed on Thursday, March 6th, and Friday, March 7th.
Due to potential power outages and network disruptions, our services and response times may be affected. However, we will do our best to respond to all emails as quickly as possible.
As previously advised, Brisbane terminals have ceased operations, and depots are ceasing operations to allow time to secure the yards. Please check directly with the depot prior to collecting or returning containers.
We appreciate your patience and understanding during this time.
From the Quay team, we hope everyone stays safe - if we can assist in anyway, please do not hesitate to reach out.
Update 1 – Tropical Cyclone Alfred – Port of Brisbane Operational Updates
To our valued customers,
Please note below Update #1 from Freight & Trade Alliance (FTA) regarding Port of Brisbane Operational updates as a result of Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
"Freight & Trade Alliance (FTA) and the Australian Peak Shippers Association (APSA) has been in direct contact with senior management at the Port of Brisbane (PoB) and respective terminal management regarding operational impacts due to Tropical Cyclone Alfred, which is now expected to make landfall this week along the South East Queensland (SEQ) coastline.
As a precautionary measure, the following operational changes have been implemented:
- Vessel Movement Suspensions:
- Maritime Safety Queensland (MSQ) has suspended inbound vessel arrivals to the Port of Brisbane due to heavy swells since late yesterday, until further notice. A further update is expected shortly confirming that all berthed vessels will be required to evacuate the port.
- Terminals:
- Patrick:
- Imports: Operating as normal for today (Day & Twilight Shifts) and tomorrow (Day Shift). Expecting to close for Imports from completion of Day Shift tomorrow 4 March 2025. Patrick advise industry to ensure they take delivery of all available imports within these shifts with slots currently available.
- Exports: Cargo receivals suspended until further notice.
- DP World:
- Imports: Operating as normal for today and then tomorrow until 2300hrs. Expecting to broadcast last slot tomorrow 4 March 2025 @ 2200hrs. Patrick advise industry to ensure they take delivery of all available imports within these shifts with slots currently available.
- Exports: Cargo receivals suspended until further notice.
- Hutchison Ports:
- Imports: Currently operating as normal until further notice. Likely to also operate until end of day tomorrow 4 March 2025.
- Exports: Cargo receivals suspended from 10am today until further notice.
- AAT:
- Imports: Currently operating as normal until further notice. Likely to also operate until end of day tomorrow 4 March 2025.
- Exports: Cargo receivals suspended until further notice.
- Patrick:
- Empty Container Park Closures: Several empty container parks across the port precinct have already ceased operations due to safety concerns. We encourage members to liaise with relevant service providers to assess potential disruptions to their supply chains.
The expectation at present is that terminal operations may resume on Saturday 8 March 2025 based on current forecasts."
We will continue to update our customers as more information comes to hand.
Thanks & kind regards
Quay Shipping