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Press, 18 October 1978, Page 3

By

JOHN LESLIE

“We are often being compared with New Zealand for size and population.” This message comes from Mr Terry O’Conallain, of Dublin, in a recent letter to the writer. Mr O’Conallain is on the council of the Maritime Institute of Ireland. He is also a member o the World Ship Society. Today, New Zealanders mostly hear about Northern Ireland and the wartom city of Belfast, but comparatively little of the Republic of Ireland. According to Mr O’Conallain, the republic has a rapidly growing Mercantile Marine, with more than 50 vessels under the Irish flag. Ships registered in Belfast normally fly the British red ensign. The Republic, however, has a separate fleet. About a quarter of the Irish merchant fleet is Irish-built, ranging from the Irish Elm (38,000 tons deadweight) to the Valzell (1600 tons deadweight). There are also the usual harbour craft, about 12 tugs, and some small pas-senger-cargo ferries of up to 500 tons gross, used on internal services. The total gross tonnage of the Irish Republic’s merchant service is about one third of a million tons. It is in this maritime category that Mr O’Conallain suggests that Ireland and New Zealand are compared. As a small, independent nation, Ireland finds itself up against tough com-

petition from its big shipowning neighbours — Britain, West Germany, the Netherlands and Scandinavia.- Shipping is vital to the Irish economy, as it is to New Zealand’s. Air links, alone, will never be sufficient in either case.

At the beginning of the Second World War, the Irish merchant' fleet, included almost all the passenger ferries in the crosschannel (Irish Sea) trade, seven oil tankers totalling 65,000 tons gross, and an Antarctic whaling fleet based on South Georgia. German - built, these tankers were modern. They had been constructed for the proposed Dublin oil refinery and were owned by Inver Tankers, Ltd, a branch of the Andrew Weir (British) shipping line. The whaling fleet — two factory ships and six catchers — were owned by H. Salvesen of Leith (Scotland), who used Irish registry to obtain the quota of Whales allowed under international agreement. Within a few days of the war’s outbreak, there was a massive exodus of ships from the Irish register. Ireland was thus left with only a nucleus merchant fleet and most of its ships were designed for short sea trading. This was a serious problem for an island country trying to exist as a neutral.

Thus, today’s stable Irish merchant fleet was

born as the outcome of war. In March, 1941, the Irish Government, under great difficulty, bought dr chartered 15 ocean-going vessels, forming a shipping company still known today as Irish Shipping, Ltd.

The Irish Maple (in the photograph above) is a member of this modern fleet, comprising eight large vessels on worldwide trades — some under charter. One was built in Cork, one in Brikenhead,

four on the Clyde, and two in Japan. The Japan-ese-built vessels, Irish Rowan and Irish Cedar, are only two-years-old. Although their country was technically neutral, thousands of Irishmen from the Republic served in the British armed services. One readily recalls Commander E. S. Fogarty Fegen of the ill-fated Jervis Bay. Ships of the Irish merchant fleet rescued 511 seamen of various nationalities, mainly British, but also Dutch, and some Germans from sunken warships in the Bay of Biscay. And Irish merchant ships came under savage attack from German planes; and from torpedos and mines.

Irish casualties were heavy. Although there

were never more than 800 men serving in Irish ships at one time, 136 died and 14 were wounded. Only now, years after the war ended/ is the memory of Ireland’s seamen being commemorated suitably in their own country. At the end of the war, the Irish Government issued a Mercantile Marine Service medal to all Irish seafarers with six months or more service in the country’s ships. No memorial honoured those who had died but now the streets of a new housing division in Irishtown are being named after the Irish shops lost in the war. =?• In addition to the fleet of Irish Shipping, Ltd, there is another Govern-ment-owned shipping line the British and Irish Steam Packet Company, Ltd. It has four sizable, roll-on ferries trading to the United Kingdom. The Leinster (pictured above might be ideal in size and speed for the LytteltonWellington ferry service — now extinct. The Irish Continental Line has two large roll-on ferries with a daily serviie to France. Linking Ireland to Britain, the Netherlands, France, Belgium, and West Germany is a fleet of 12 container ships operating an intensive network service.

Ireland, too, has six tankers. These are not deep sea craft and the maximum tonnage is 5500 tons deadweight. The major oil companies use their own tankers or char-

tered ships. Russian tankers are frequent callers. There are another 24 small ships under the Irish flag on mainly short sea trading, mostly from Ireland to the Continent. Nearly all are modern ships, and even if their size is not large they handle a huge tonnage of cargo. It is interesting to note that the British and Irish Steam Packet Company’s roll-on ferries make more than 80 sailings a week to Britain. Ireland has one of the best trawler fishing grounds in European waters, and an eight-ship naval service is being expanded to care for a 200mile fishing limit. A lighthouse service operates with its own vessels.

I recall the visit to Lyttelton of an earlier Irish Maple, a cargo liner, under charter to Shaw Savill and Albion, Ltd. It had an all-Irish crew and in command was Captain D. Langram, who had visited Lyttelton some years earlier as an officer aboard Ellerman’s City of Dieppe. Captain Langram confirmed that Irish Shipping, Ltd, was born out of wartime expediency. The withdrawal of so much British-owned shipping made it vital for the Irish Government to find other seaborne means of obtaining food and supplies from overseas. As the Irish merchant service grows — and it must — perhaps we will see more of its ships in Lyttelton.