Container-Cargo Problems

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31221, 19 November 1966, Page 3

Container-Cargo Problems

CA’.Z. Press Association) WELLINGTON, Nov. 18. Container ships would not automatically mean an end to cargo-handling problems the New Zealand division of the Institute of Transport’s conference was told today.

The chairman of the Container and Cargo-Handling

Committee, London, Mr W. Molyneux, said he conservateiy estimated a modern container ship in the New Zealand trade over the whole of its life would carry twice the amount of cargo as the average of the present conventional ships. Cargo carried by the Conference Line vessels required about 70 ships, but if all cargoes could be put into containers it followed that the fleet could be reduced to about 35 and introduction of container ships would become sound and attractive.

But there were many snags to that dream, he said. Some cargoes would not readily pack in containers. There were many more commodities which would pack into containers, but at no gain provided machinery was made available for handling them.

Peak shipping requirements would upset dreams of a greatly reduced number of ships. It was doubtful if a small number of large container ships could meet market requirements. How many container ship terminal ports could the New Zealand trade bear? Mr Molyneux asked. He estimated two, or at the most three, terminal ports each having one berth. These would be costly and would need expensive lifting gear, cargoassembly and distribution facilities.

Cost of assembling container cargoes from all over the country would be high and would eat into the benefits containers seemed to offer. Each container, if insulated, would probably cost more than £lOOO and would carry, possibly, only 50 tons of cargo a year, said Mr Molyneux. Give the container a life of 10 years and capital cost was in excess of £2 a ton of cargo carried, not counting the cost of maintenance or the return on capital employed.

Some means would have to be found to reimburse the unamortised capital invested in redundant shops, ports and other assets. There would be the social problem and dislocation of port labour and others who would be effected by a change to container cargo-handling. Mr Molyneux said the Conference Lines would make

available the published results of the committee’s investigations.