AUCKLAND'S BUSY PORT.

Auckland Star, Volume 55, Issue 2, 3 January 1924, Page 9

AUCKLAND'S BUSY PORT.

TWELVE MONTHS' PROGRESS. PROSPECTS STILL BRIGHT. 3IORE BERTHAGE XEEDED. Auckland has just passed through an exceptionally busy month on the waterfront, and the future prospects of the port continue to brighten. The past year witnessed a considerable increase in shipping, and the increase in importations from England has brought many steamers from London and Liverpool with between four and five thousand tons of cargo for this port alone. If trade had followed its normal course the shipping facilities already existing would, with difficulty, have been able to cope with the situation. But trade was interrupted in August and September by a dockers' strike on the Thames, that meant a delay of from a month to six weeks for many ships. Cargoes which ■were expected to arrive here in late Oc- ( tober and throughout November, were consequently delayed, and began to arrive in large quantities in December for delivery before Christmas. This abnormal influx was too great for the port, and for a short time the Tvharfage accommodation was insufficient to berth all the steamers. It was not the first time that this had occurred at Auckland, and the fact that twice a year recently—in March, when exports were heavy, and in November, when imports were heavy—the same, state of affairs had to some extent prevailed, showed how urgently was the- need of further accommodation. This need will be well met before another six months are out by the new Prince's wharf. Work on this warf has progressed rapidly, and when the structure is completed Auckland will possess one of -the finest and best-equipped wharves in the Southern Hemisphere. Increases in Tonnage. In the matter of tonnage the shipping returns show that the year 1923 eclipsed the previous twelve months by a large margin. The net tonnage in arrivals and departures easily exceeded the two million mark, being more than 200,000 tons greater than the 1922 totals. This was evidence of a decided improvement, but the fact that generally larger cargo€% were carried made the improvement still more pronounced. From New York there have been less steamers with small cargoes than in 1922, and no instances of steamers coming out from England to New Zealand in ballast ■have occurred for some eighteen months. New trades have been opening steadily, and those opened in 1921 and 1922 have been carefully fostered' and developed. One of the most important of the latter is the cargo service between Montreal and St. John's to Auckland, and from New Zealand to the Canadian ports on Cape Breton and the St. Lawrence. This trade, in which the Canadian Government Merchant Marine undertook the pioneering two years ago, has responded well to the improvement in the services, and with the entry of the New Zealand Shipping Gompany, t\\ o lines are now competing for cargoes from Canadian ports to New Zealand. Auckland is the first pc rt of call for steamers of both lines, the voyage being general!} - made in less than six weeks. Atlantic Coast Improvements. Another improvement that has been instituted by the-Canadian Government line affects the- export trade from Auckland to the Atlantic coast, ports of America, and has met with the appreciation of shippers iiere, because Auckland has become the final loading port for New York and Montreal. Under the new arrangement, which has been working for the last nine months, steamers of this line proceed to Australia immediately .after discharging' their JTew Zealand cargo here and return about a month later, via southern ports, to fill up with general cargo. ' New Zealand Shipping Company steamers are also making Auckland the final loading port for Xew York, en route to England, and the past twelve months has seen some of the fastest of the regular cargo steamers placed in this service. A case in point was the departure of the Armagh from Auckland on September 27 for New.York, Boston and the united Kingdom with a large cargo. No finer cargo liner than this one ever sailed out of Auckland, but one of the strange and tragic .misfortunes of the sea made the voyage her last, for she grounded at the entrance of the Mersey on December 15 and became a total wreck. Other lines running steamers from New York to New Zealand are the Commonwealth and Dominion (Cunard) Line and the Reardon-Smith Line. .. . Competition for New Trade' The entry of the Eeardon-Smith Line marks the most important development in the tvay of new lines to New Zealand and Australia. The Jersey City, whicn ■arrived at Auckland in March* to load; Homewards was the inaugural steamer. essels of this line have since appeared at Auckland at intervals of about two months. The Chungwa Navigation Co., "Ltd.. of Hongkong, which has, for the last few years, been trading between China and South America, diverted one of their steamers, the Ling Xam, by way of Australia and New Zealand, and thus established, within the last six months, the first direct communication with Chile. This was an experiment; and, if trade warrants, the company is expected to augment the service, which, at the present time, is three-monthly. Wellington has been the port of call for New Zealand; but information has been received that on her next voyage, about March, the Ling Nam will call at Auckland instead of Wellington. A new sen-ice to New Zealand has been inaugurated by the ileesageries Maritimes Co., via the Panama and Pacific Islands, bringing the .Dominion into direct communication with France. This service is ako three-monthly, ana was inaugurated by the steamer El Kantara, which loaded early in-the year at Dunkirk, Havre, Bordeaux and Marseilles, and made the voyage via Guadeloupe, Martinique, Colon, Panama and Papeete, returning via Noumea, the New Hebrides and other Pacific Islands. . New Steamers for New Zealand. A number of new sieamers have made their appearance in the Waitemata during the year, and others intended for the New Zealand trade are now building. Tho Turakina is the name of the laf ,t addition to the New Zealand Shipping- Company's fleet. She was built for the refrigerated produce trade and is insulated throughout. An addition to the Cunard Line was the steamer Port Hardy, of S7QS gross tons and si.'H net, the same size as the Turakina. There arc also two new steamers being constructed for the C. and I). Line by Messrs. Workman, Clark and Company," of Belfast. These vessels^

will /be named the Port Brisbane and Port Wellington. They were contracted for in 1920, but cancelled before being commenced. In construction they resemble the company's newest steamers, Port Hardy, Port Auckland, Port Campbell and Port Hunter. The Port Brisbane will have a dead-weisht carrying capacity of 11.600 tons and the Port Wellington of 10.S00 tons. The Union Company's new liner Aotangi is now building in the yards of the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, of Glasgow, and should be nearing completion towards the end of this year. She will ma'.;e the trip across the Pacific in IS days, travelling at 17 knets, and will run in conjunction with the Niagara. Besides beini; the largest motor ship in the world, the Aotangi will embody all the latest improvements in fitting and construction. She-is eaid to be a wonderful example, of the advance in shipbuilding that has* taken place since the original Aorangi was built in ISS3. The High Freight Charges. A lot of criticism has been levelled at shipowners within the last few years on account of big freight charges. Freight reductions were made during the past year, especially in February, but these have not completely silenced the critics; and there are some who seriously ask .why the increase in cargoes and the decline in prices from the high level of 1920 has not been accompanied by a corresponding reduction In freights. It is generally believed "that the "sunshine" looked for by Lord Inchcape eighteen months ago has broken through the clouds of "bad trade," and the regular shipping companies are feeling the benefit. Concessions were made to both importers and exporters in the reduction announced by the Conference Lines and by the Oceanic, Canadian Government and Commonwealth and Dominion Lines in February: but the council of the Chamber of Shipping pointed out in August that the barrier in the way of larger reductions was found in the high terminal costs. High port charges, light dues, pilotage rates, quarantine expenses and other terminal charges were indicated as the real obstacle. Some proof of this was given at.the time, and the shipping companies concerned in New Zealand trade explained with emphasis that the expenses incurred on the coasts were exceptionally heavy through the need of working sometimes live or six ports to get full cargoes. This meant in some cases spending two months in New Zealand waters: and, as happened very often, two visits to the same port, first for discharging and later for loading. This is almost the rule with many vessels calling at Auckland.