Progress made on containers

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32701, 2 September 1971, Page 1

Progress made on containers

(New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, September 1. Some progress is believed to have been made in negotiations between waterfront unions and employers today on an agreement to cover overseas container ships.

The parties met for several hours. They will resume their talks tomorrow.

Representatives of employers and unions had separate meetings with the Minister of Labour (Mr Marshall) before the talks began.

The assistant secretary of the Waterside Workers’ Federation (Mr E. G. Thompson) said tonight that he was optimistic that an agreement would be reached. Several days of abortive talks last month ended when the unions agreed to work the container ship ACT 3 under the provisions of the Waterfront General Principle Order.

The departure of the container ship Columbus New Zealand was delayed at Auckland tonight for a rising tide to enable her to clear a large sandbank in the harbour, an Auckland message says.

Only 27ft of water covers the sandbank near the container terminal at low water, and the Columbus New Zealand’s maximum draught is about 34ft 6in. Although container loading finished about 11.30 tonight, the ship will have to remain at her berth until about 2 ajn. before there is sufficient water over the sandbank. A Columbus Line official said the number of containers loaded at Auckland had been limited to about 330 at a request from the Auckland >

Harbour Board, because of the sandbank. Until more dredging is done, all visiting container ships will be forced to work the tides. If they are forced to do so indefinitely, this would defeat the objects of round-the-clock waterfront work, now under discussion between waterside unions and port employers in Wellington. One official estimate suggests that it will be up to two months before the sandbank can be dredged. During this time two more container ships are due to call.