Shipping Lines’ Views On Cargo-Handling Equipment

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29800, 17 April 1962, Page 12

Shipping Lines’ Views On Cargo-Handling Equipment

(By C. T. C. WATSON, of the staff of the New Zealand Overseas' Shipowners’ Committee I

Why is it that shipping architects, so adventurous since the war in creating passenger liners of advanced design, appear to the layman to be conservative when it comes to the development of new cargo vessels or revolutionary methods for fast loading and discharge? British draughtsmen have taken leave of the prim majesty of ships like the Carinthia, the Caronia, or the “Straths,” and have launchec the Canberra, Oriana anc Southern Cross. Soon they will present New Zealanc with the Northern Star.

Many of the cargo liners built since the war for the New Zealand run are as up to the minute in propulsioi. systems and navigations equipment, and are as eyepleasing in their way as theii sisters on the tourist circuit, but tied up at the wharvei and smothered with the para phernalia of cargo operations, or doing the rounds of fou. to eight New Zealand pork and taking as many Weeks in the process, they may seen, in time-saving to be not much ahead of their predecessors 01 a quarter of a century ago. The Port Line, in Wellington, has asked its London naval architect and superintendent engineer, Mr R. W. Cromarty, to report on what is being done in the way of new ideas to speed up cargo loading and discharge. British Committee

Mr Cromarty replied that there exists in Britain the headquarters of an organisation called the International Cargo-handling Co-ordinating Association, whose membership is drawn from experts in 60 countries, and whose aim is to increase the efficiency and economy of the movement of ocean-bome cargo by co-ordinating and encouraging the improvement of cargo handling. “This objective,” the association says, “shall be achieved by the exchange of information, and by conducting studies in all aspects of cargo handling between points of origin and destination of the goods.” The scope of its work covers about everything known in theory and practice on merchant ship design and cargo-handling methods. Apart from the wide-rang-ing technical work of this association, the Shipowners’ Refrigerated Cargo Research Association, set up in 1945, is applying itself to problems arising from existing and new processes in the sea transport of perishables or other specialised cargoes. Its membership is restricted to Commonwealth shipowners, who maintain a research laboratory at Cambridge staffed by scientists employed by the lines. Refrigerated Exports From time to time farmers’ organisations have sought speedier loading of refrigerated exports, particularly meat. Accordingly, much discussion has turned on the possibility of, for example, large-scale development of conveyor-belt systems operating through ports cut in ships' sides for faster handling and all-weather loading. The side-port method was the subject of a report by marine superintendents in Wellington in 1956. After full investigation the superintendents reported that “very little, if any, saving of time would accrue from the introduction of meat loading through side-ports under present conditions in New Zealand sea ports, and that any possible saving could be greatly outweighed by the costs involved.”

Meat-ports, originally fitted in some vessels in the New Zealand trade, and in service in other parts of the world, were planned for wet-weather loading. The marine superintendents reached the conclusion that any improvement in loading methods should be pursued by means of conveyor belts running from the wharf up the ship’s side, across the deck and down the hatch into the hold. For all practical purposes side-ports are “out,” for the immediate future, at all events. Experience has shown that in ocean-going ships it is difficult to seal them against leakage into the holds in heavy seas, with consequent damage to cargo. But the conveyor-belt system does have limited possibilities for the handling of uniform - sized commodities like meat and butter on the principle of up-the-side, across-the-deck and down-the-hatch. The Bluff harbour authorities are planning this form of conveyor-belt for meat loading. The conveyor-belt in its present state of development is, however, out of the question on grounds of practicability and economics for dealing with general, or “dry,” cargo of different weight, size and shape a cargo liner accepts for transportation as a common carrier.

The cargo gear on modern ships is a big improvement

on that fitted a decade or so ago. Today the winches on new ships are invariably elec-ally-driven and can be operated at a much faster rate than previously, as well as lifting a greater weight. Improvements have been made in derricks. Another innovation is the fitting of hatches which open and tjlose mechanically, not only on the weather deck but below deck also. With these improvements, vessels can handle cargo as fast as it can be brought alongside or taken away from a ship. Use of Containers There has been, and still is. much consideration—notably .n the United States —of the provision of containers for .he transport of goods. The averseas lines were experimenting in New Zealand as long ago as 1954 with con-ainer-packing of frozen commodities. This procedure nust begin at the factory or ,'reezing works and continue n refrigerated form through road and rail transport to the wharfside and into the ship, inormous capital outlay is involved all along the chain, it has been found in New Zealand that the particular products tried out can be provided more economically for in special refrigerated lockers built into all new ships on the New Zealand run.

The marine superintendents believe therefore that while refrigerated containers have much to recommend them, their general use is likely to be slow to develop. It has been proposed by laymen that quicker cargo handling might be possible

if shipowners adopted elevators descending into the holds like an aircraft carrier’s. Again it is a matter of feasibility and cost. Elevators would occupy space the full depth of the vessel—as do goods lifts in any multistorey warehouse ashore —and would be wholly uneconomic when every cubic foot must pay its way if freight rates are to be kept to a reasonable minimum on the long haul from New Zealand to the market.

Specialised vessels moving bulk cargo like wheat or cement by tanker from and to fixed points have solved the problem of turnround. But for ships serving manydestinations and carrying all kinds of merchandise for a multitude of shippers the problem is quite different and vastly complex. This is not to say that the shipowners and the shippers of the country’s outgoing and incoming wealth are content to allow the evolution of methods toward faster turnround to take their rather deliberate course. There appears to be nothing radical in ship design or ship-based mechanical apparatus that can come straight off the drawingboard as a solution of the turn-round problem. Mr Cromarty expresses the consensus of the most advanced British and foreign thinking when commenting: “The ultimate aim must be the provision of shore-based equipment for handling rapidly and efficiently, and in all weathers, general or packaged merchandise of all types, sizes and weights.”