NZ Ploughing Champions' Gear Stuck at Sea Before Worlds

With ploughing being a dark art, the duo has spent many years tweaking their tractors, ploughs and accessories to help gain those extra few points and achieve a win.

To give themselves the best chance of success, a plan made, shipping in April, contracting freight specialists Oceanbridge, who would use MSC Shipping to move the team's container to Rijeka, Croatia. Packed and loaded in May, with an initial arrival date in Europe of 18 July, the early arrival was deliberately planned to allow time for customs clearance cleaning, preparation, practice and any unexpected hiccups.

Despite that focus on logistics, the shipping has turned into a shambles, firstly with a delayed departure, causing the arrival date in Europe to push out to 24 July. On 16 June, Mark Dillon's wife, Sonia, asked for a shipping update, only to be told the container was still in Wellington, but Oceanbridge continued to advise that expected delivery was still around 25 July.

On 5 July, Sonia used an app to check the ship's location herself and was surprised to find it off Tasmania, sought an updated ETA and was told the container was now on a vessel heading back to New Zealand, with a revised arrival date to Croatia of around 24 August.

For a world championship ploughing team, it means two tractors, two ploughs, tools, parts and uniforms in the wrong ocean at the wrong time, given that the team had planned to arrive in Croatia in early August to unload, clean and prepare the gear, begin practice and understand local conditions, including topography and soils.

Competition requirements create additional pressure, with equipment needing to be scrutineered and used during official practice ahead and used during official practice ahead of the main event. While the duo has been offered loan equipment to allow them to compete, without their own gear, the team risks being unable to prepare properly, or indeed, compete at all.

The team is now scrambling to salvage what it can, including Oceanbridge looking at whether the container can be unloaded when the boat returns to NZ, so uniforms, parts and tools can be shipped separately to Europe to be used on borrowed equipment. However, there is a concern that MSC may decline to unload the container until it reaches Panama.

The issue also shines a light on the logistics that need to be in place for overseas competitors who will be heading to the World Ploughing Championships in Southland, New Zealand in 2029, with 24 predominantly European countries spending tens of thousands of dollars heading south.

As Rural News went to press, the team was exploring an alternative shipper who can get the container to the Western Mediterranean and a commitment to getting the container to Croatia by road.

Sonia Dillon says, "Oceanbridge have worked hard to find a solution, with the latest plan being to load the container onto a chilled ship that takes NZ fruit straight to Europe. This should see all the gear arriving on the day the event starts, so we have fingers, toes and everything else crossed."

She goes on to explain, that Mark and Malcolm will borrow tractors and ploughs for initial practice, then if all the ducks align, switch to their own equipment for the official practice sessions and the actual competition.