For immediate release 16 February 2007

Customs staff tackle record number of cruise passengers

Customs staff at Ports of Auckland got an early night last night – they were gearing up for their biggest day on record today, when they will process around 7,900 people within a normal working day.

Two large cruise ships, the Statendem and the Sapphire Princess, arrived this morning within an hour of each other, which is a first for the Customs crew.

Customs Manager Northern Ports Simon Williamson says that today is the culmination of more than six months of planning, and extra staff and resources will be in place to respond to record numbers.

"It's going to be extremely busy, but we've done our planning and we're ready for it. We will be bringing in resources from other areas to do the job."

As well as ensuring New Zealand's borders are protected, it is also important that Customs can get passengers through as quickly as possible, Mr Williamson says.

"The cruise industry has grown in New Zealand and we're seen as a favourable and safe cruise destination. Passengers inject a lot of money into the economy so it's important we can facilitate them and help create a cruise-friendly destination that people want to come back to."

The morning will see approximately 4,000 passengers and crew disembarking, and the afternoon will see a further 4,000 boarding the cruise ships. Although most of the passengers will join the cruise ships in Sydney, the majority will be Americans.

Much of the primary processing for those disembarking will be done en route prior to arrival so that when the passengers arrive in Auckland, they will just have to proceed through the second phase of processing for passengers and their baggage.

Customs' detector dog teams will be on hand, as will x-ray equipment to assist with border security at two separate wharves.

ENDS

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