Coastal barge service?

Press, 12 July 1979, Page 10

Coastal barge service?

Shipping reporter Six harbour boards have been shown films of a proposed New Zealand tug and barge service which is reported to offer freight cuts of up to 65 per cent for wheat and 30 per cent (4c a litre instead of the present sea freight of 13c a litre) for liquid petroleum gas. But a spokesman for the New Zealand-American consortium involved in the project described the reaction to the film showings as premature, with a lot of planning still to be completed for the service.

He is Mr J. G. Rutherford, | a Christchurch barrister and solicitor, who said a separate company would be formed by the New Zealand consortium. The project was not related in any way to his Nationwide Transport interests.

Lyttelton is one of the, proposed terminal ports. Films have been shown to Lyttelton Harbour Board members and officials, and at the other proposed terminal ports of Bluff, Nelson, Wanganui, New Plymouth, and Onehunga. Timaru, where a previous tug and barge service run by the Dillingham Corporation of the United States was halted because of demarcation problems, is not on the schedule of the planned new service.

The American principals in the project, Crowley Maritime Corporation, are worldwide specialists in tug and barge transport. Initial plans provide for two tugs and barges for the New Zealand service.

Each barge has three decks. Vehicles are loaded by the roll-on method up a stern ramp to either of two

semi-covered decks or the open top deck. Plans announced in other parts of New Zealand provide for the building of 250 trailers in Christchurch and 500 in the United States. The 45,000 square metres of deck space on the barges is said to carry 261 trailers varying in length from 12.2 m to 13.7 m, or the equivalent in 6.1 m trailers. The two 4500 h.p. tugs Apache and Blackhawke each carry a crew of 11 and are capable of towing at 12 knots.

A weekly service with a turnaround time of seven hours is planned, and warehouses are envisaged at the terminal ports for 12.2 m LCL (less than container full loads) containers. The barges are 127.15 m long with a beam of 32m and draught of 4.02 m. The tugs draw 5.33 m.

Questioned about the plans this week. Mr Rutherford said most of the information should not have been available until representa I tives of Crowley Maritime' Corporation arrived in New Zealand within the next few weeks.

He disclaimed the reported freight reductions and said these were still being finalised. “The whole thing is still in the exploratory stages,” said Mr Rutherford. “We have enjoyed some worth-while talks with union representatives but a lot still has to be done.” The reports indicate that watersiders will drive the trailers on to the barges. “We hope the service will be seen to be in the national interest but if it is held up in areas we have not anticipated there could be problems,” Mr Rutherford said.