SHIPS LAID UP IN N.Z.

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28822, 17 February 1959, Page 10

SHIPS LAID UP IN N.Z.

Indians In Fiji Suggest Use (N.Z. Press Association—Copyright! (Rec. 10.30 p.m.) SUVA, February 15. The conversion of one of the 13 ships laid up in New Zealand into a “passenger transport" to enable Indians living in Fiji to make return visits to India at moderate cost has been suggested by an Indian group in Suva. The proposal has been outlined in the “Fiji Times” in a letter which bears 121 signatures; The idea arose from a New Zealand report that 13 ships were idle at Auckland as a result of a recession in the shipping industry.

The letter suggests that the "general public, the Government of Fiji, the Commissioner for the Government of India in Fiji and the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand” give consideration to the conversion of one of the idle ships into a passenger transport with deck accommodation similar to war-time troop transports. Alternatively, the letter adds, the ship could be converted to a somewhat higher standard, like that of the British Indian Company’s passenger-carrying cargo ships which plied regularly between India and Fiji until 1948 The letter says many Indians in Fiji wish to visit their homeland, but can not afford, to do so at present passage rates. It adds: “There are a number of Indians who would like to go to India for good, including businessmen whom the depression is-hitting hard. They would like to leave Fiji for good, but are handicapped by the transport problem. “Cheap transport from Fiji would help to reduce the rate of the population increase,” according to the letter. The general manager of the Union Steam Ship Company in New Zealand (Mr H. H. Dobie) said tonight: “None of the ships now laid up would be suitable for conversion. There is nothing more I can say.”