3 Islands Intermodal is a proudly New Zealand-owned port services and logistics company, with a 600+-strong team operating across 19 locations throughout the country. The business draws on a heritage that traces back through the storied history of the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand Ltd to 1875.

That history matters because New Zealand’s prosperity has always depended on reliable connections between its regions, ports and international markets. At its height, the Union Steam Ship Company owned and operated 75 cargo and passenger vessels, with particular strengths in New Zealand coastal and Trans-Tasman services. In later years, it diversified into airlines that subsequently, through amalgamation, became Air New Zealand.

In 2024, 3 Islands acquired SSA New Zealand Ltd from Stevedoring Services of America Inc (SSA), returning a long-standing port services business to private local ownership. SSA had itself acquired the Union Steamship Company terminals business from Brierley Investments and then acquired a second port services company, Southern Cross Stevedores Limited.  

Since returning to New Zealand ownership in 2024, the company has evolved from a wharf-side port services business into a fully intermodal operator. It has expanded from eight to eleven port operations and acquired Boxman assets and contracts in 2025, bringing six inland depots and container operations into the network.

The company’s growth has also included and the establishment of Ika Rere Cargo in 2025, extending our capability across retail freight forwarding.

Today, 3 Islands Intermodal brings together port services, inland logistics, container operations and freight forwarding. We are building a connected New Zealand-owned business with the capability to support customers across the full supply chain, from port to depot to destination and vice versa.

We operate through regionally embedded teams, with local decision-making and operational knowledge remaining close to customers, ports and branches across the network.

An employee ownership model gives team members a direct stake in the business, supporting accountability, retention and long-term operating discipline.