Swiss captain’s visit

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32637, 19 June 1971, Page 2

Swiss captain’s visit

“Although there are quite a number of Swiss citizens engaged in seafaring as a career, the majority of them, apart from senior men, do not stay for very long periods.” Captain R. Butikofer, a Swiss, who is the master of the Liberian-registered, but Swiss-owned, 17-knot motorvessel, Cavallino, at present discharging Ecuadorian bananas at Lyttelton, said this yesterday. “Switzerland, though an inland country, has a sizeable merchant fleet of modem ships engaged in world trade, often under charter,” he said. Captain Butikofer, a citizen of Berne, said that a

number of Swiss seafarers lived in other European countries which bad access to the sea. The disadvantage of living in Switzerland and going to sea was its isolation from seaports, he said. Because of this, the men were cut off from their homeland for long periods. A number of Swiss also served in vessels of other nations, he said.

His present command, the Cavlllino, which is a rakish vessel, with the engine and accommodation sited well aft, leaving a long, clear foredeck, was launched only last year at La Rochelle, France. She has a crew of 23, mainly Swiss, but including Dutchmen, Cubans, Jugoslavs, and Germans.

Captain Butikofer said that the Swiss owners of the Cavallino (Suisse-Outremer, Ltd) had a fleet of nine ships, seven of them under the

Swiss flag and two under the Liberian flag. The Cavallino brought 70,000 cartons of bananas from Ecuador to New Zealand and about 46,000 cartons were discharged at Auckland The remainder were for Lyttelton.

Captain Butikofer, said he had a great liking for New Zealand. The spaciousness appealed to him, he added. The Cavallino, has every modern comfort, and carries sophisticated navigational equipment. She is expected to sail for Melbourne today to load meat for the Pacific Coast of North America.

Captain Butikofer said yesterday that he was in Lyttelton as a seaman aboard the Swiss-registered vessel, Allobrogia, in 1952. It is believed that only two Swiss-regis-tered vessels have visited Lyttelton during the last 10 years.