Ports Still Displease Shipping Chairman

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30066, 26 February 1963, Page 21

Ports Still Displease Shipping Chairman

Although port facilities in the North Inland had improved a little since he was last in New Zealand in 1967 there wa* still room for a great dead more modernisation in many departments, said Lord Sanderson, chairman of the Shaw Savill Line, in Christchurch yesterday. Lord Sanderson, who is also a director at Dalgetya, the Bank of England and the Ford Motor Company, is visiting New Zealand on behalf of Shaw Savill

He has visited major ports in the North Island. He will visit Lyttelton today, and

will then go to Port Chalmers and Bluff later this week. While in New Zealand Lord Sanderscsi is meeting port authorities in all main centres. Describing himself as "one of the fools who rush in,” Lord Sanderson said yesterday that he always found it very difficult to refrain from offering advice upon such topics as port organisation and facilities. In common with most of the Larger lines, his company was concerned at the length of time needed to turn a ship around in New Zealand, he said. The turnaround now averaged about two months for each ship, and this time had increased by five days since 1957. This time wastage tied up valuable capital equipment and would have to be eliminated, he said.

Although hb trip to Lyttelton will not be LntU X Sander»n hae been inforoed by *e company*, officers that 001 awfully with the tneiUWb »ere. The company did t»t hi ac t._J jrtt f Iton 1® *lte top bracket of New Zealand *« concerned.

”1 have seen for years the improvement, which could be made in New Zealand I J‘ av « been gratified at those improvemeats which **“ wri *s l «*■ but I am always looking for mow.’ said Lord Sanderson. He has been visiting the Domarion regulariy since 19Z3.

,_ .fop* Sanderson hopes for helpful reports from two committees which have been set up—one in London and one in Wellington—to investigate ways of streamlining the movements of goods from une farm to the ship, and from the ship to the shops. Questioned as to the effect opon shipping lines* business if Britain were to join the Common Market, Lord Sanderson said that he did not foresee any significant change in the volume of shipping. *T can’t believe that there wUi be any change in the general pattern of trade between New Zealand and the United Kingdom. We are your biggest market,’* he said.

Lard Sanderson has heard nothing about any proposed further rise in freight charges this year. He looks to the reports of the London and Wellington committoes to produce recommendations which will affeot economies, He said yesterday that a major fault in New Zealand's port system was its overdependence upon the railways for taking goods to and from the ports.

“The trouble is that there are not enough refrigerated trucks,” heraid. “You can’t expect a port to be efficient unless both rail and road have unrestricted rights to transport goods.” This topic would no doubt be discussed by the committees, said Lord Sandeisbn. A major item for them would be the consideration of the economies of carting goods by internal transport to major port, instead of loading the ships at a great number of small ports all around the coastline.