U.S.S.C. Defends Tasman Shipping Opportunities

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31729, 12 July 1968, Page 20

U.S.S.C. Defends Tasman Shipping Opportunities

(New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, July 11. The Union Steam Ship Company had provided a “cargo opportunity” from New Zealand to Australia every two and a half days in the year ending June 30, said the company’s general traffic manager (Mr C. F. Watson) today.

A survey report of the Department of Industries and Commerce discussed at the Exports and Shipping Council yesterday blamed the lack of adequate shipping services for loss of export trade.

Mr Watson said that in the June year, Union Company ships had provided 140 cargo sailings to Australia.

Opportunities from Tauranga were available with a greater frequency than from other ports because of the large tonnages of paper and other forest products loaded there for Australia.

“Direct sailings from other New Zealand ports are maintained on as a regular basis as circumstances allow, but over-all coverage is good,” said Mr Watson. “Few ships crossing from New Zealand to Australia have had full cargoes: and the utilisation of freezer space could be materially improved if shippers utilised fully the space they reserved,” he said.

Mr Watson said the roll-on unitised ships Maheno and Marama, due to enter service on a time-tabled basis between Auckland and Wellington and Sydney and Melbourne, would be a further move by the company to provide exporters with more frequent and regular shipping services.

“Typical of the difficulty in providing scheduled sailings by cargo vessels to service imports and exports of New Zealand cargoes is the periodic delay to vessels caused by congestion, shortage of berths, shortage of labour and rain “In Wellington today two 5500-ton Tasman cargo vessels await labour (210 men required). Earlier this week another vessel Navua (2000 tons) had one day’s work to discharge oranges and finally departed two days late on account of rain.”