CONGESTION OF CARGO

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25273, 27 August 1947, Page 9

CONGESTION OF CARGO

INEFFICIENT USE OF SHIPPING BLAMED VIEW OF SHIPOWNERS The federation believed that the congestion of cargo in New Zealand ports was not due to a lack of sufficient shipping, but to the inefficient use of the shipping that was available, stated the secretary of the New Zealand Shipowners’ Federation (Mi G. H. Norman), commenting, in “New Zealand Commerce,” on a report from Christchurch which had asserted that the lack of shipping was causing cargo congestion. Mr Norman said that there was now available more coastal shipping than ever before, and that conditions for the working of ships in port under the Waterfront Control Regulations were a material factor affecting the shortages. He gave five examples of the ways in which coastal shipping in New Zealand was being held up at present. The first case he quoted was that of a vessel which was employed in the tast coast trade from the South Island to Auckland and which, in 1939, was in commission for 365 days of the year, making 16 round trips and averaging 23 days on each trip. In 1946 the same ship was in commission for 329 days making only seven round trips and taking 47 days a trip on an average. A ship which took only 21 days for ine round trip between Melbourne and the South Island and Wellington before ’he war now averaged 47 days for the same trip, while a vessel carrying 1500 tons of general cargo between Wellington and Lyttelton made only seven vFips in the first six months of this year. Ordinarily, said Mr Norman, a round trip should be made in 14 to 16 -lany similar instances could be given, said Mr Norman, and the factors contributing to the slower turnround of shipping were the reduced hours worked daily on the wharves, me diminished quantity of cargo hauled each day, and the shortage of kr OU J ?. nd of trucks at railway ports-Non-delivery of goods on Saturdays was a material factor in the congestion at ports.

An increased number of vessels would not cure the position, said Mr Norman, since they would not be worked under present-day conditions.