An American shipping operator Matson South Pacific Limited has begun its operations of the assets formerly owned by Auckland-based Reef Shipping.
The company has been registered in New Zealand and is wholly owned by Matson of the US.
Matson acquired vessels and about 1,500 pieces of container equipment from the Reef Group after it went into receivership last November.
Matson will provide a service to Auckland, Fiji, Nauru, Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Samoa, the Cook Islands, Niue, Tonga, Wallis and Futuna, Vanuatu, Tarawa, Tuvalu and Majuro.
Matson's senior vice president Pacific, Vic Angoco, is overseeing the new venture, as well as the company's operations in Hawaii, Guam and Micronesia.
A former All Black rugby player, Michael Jones, has been appointed as Matson's strategic development manager.
