LOAD LINE CONFERENCE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 197, 21 August 1930, Page 19

LOAD LINE CONFERENCE.

N.Z.'S NEW POSITION.

ITS EFFECT ON FREIGHTS,

(From Our Own Correspondent.)

LONDON, July 10.

The work of the Load Line Conference completed on Saturday evening, was for New Zealand primary producers as valuable as any that lias hitherto been done. By this year's Load Line Conference a very great advantage lias been gained, for with the exception of a portion of the south-west of the South Island the whole of the Dominion is now within the summer zone throughout the whole year, whereas, prior to 1924, the summer zone lino was drawn from a point across Victoria to Whangaroa Point, thus excluding • practically the whole of New Zealand from the summer zone. When it is realised that the boundary of the summer zone was drawn at the previous conference in 1929 through Cook Strait excluding the whole of the South Island, the advantage whicli has been obtained at this year's conference for shippers of New Zealand produce is obvious. They will ''be able to carry more produce throughout the whole year than they have 'hitherto. So serious was the effect of the South Island exclusion from the summer zone in reducing shipments of coal that the shipping companies may have had to raise their freights, since the margin of profit is already so low. This would have had a crippling effect on business which is now being carried on under conditions which are admittedly difficult. The High Commissioner for New Zealand was a member of a. number of committees of the Conference, but his membership of the Zone Committee, in view of New Zealand's burden-line position, was the most important work he had to do, for it is not an easy matter to determine the right point to which ships or different size and strength and build should bo allowed, under different conditions, to load. If they loaded ships too deeply there was the risk of damage and danger, whereas, on the other hand, if they compelled ships to load too lightly they shut out cargo which could safely be carried and thereby added to the cost of every commodity carried sea. There were representatives of thirtyfour countries at the conference, comprising about eighty delegates and a number of experts equipped with data giving the meteorological and other lelevant statistics for each country. _ One important condition determining whether or no a given coast- should. be admitted into tlio summer zone was the strength of the prevailing winds. The experts who have set up _ standards i n the various conditions "Which should govern the position of the load line laid it down that places where the prevailing "•ale frequency was above ten should be excluded'from the summer zone, and the concession obtained for New Zealand this year is a relaxation of the' strict enforcement of tlio definition. The next summer zone line for New Zealand has been settled to start on the west coast at the point where longitude 170 degrees cuts it, that-is, below the coal shipping ports. From that point romi d to Point Otara is all that is now within the winter zone. The High Commissioner was unable to save Invercargill. Since, however, the determining of the load lino depends on a ship's last port of departure from a country, this will not, in practice, affect export trade, since a boat loading at the Bluff can procee l to a more northerly port to sail finally from the Dominion. Sir Thomas had as his New Zealand colleague in the conference Sir Charles Holdsworth... The latter, however, had no power to vote and was present as an observer and as representing shipping interests involved.