Ship’s company enjoys visiting New Zealand

Press, 25 November 1981, Page 16

Ship’s company enjoys visiting New Zealand

Captain Arthur Olsen spent his 1 ' thirty-ninth birthday, November 20, at sea. but that was not unusual for him. He is master of the Danish ship Diana Skou, which left Lyttelton after a six-day stay, on Thursday. The Diana Skou loaded 9000 bales of wool for China. It was Captain Olsen's first Visit to Lyttelton, but the ship has been here before. “It seems a fairly good port,” he said. The ship's Danish crew prefer it to China. They enjoy coming back to Australia and New Zealand, which they will, after berth-

ing at Chinese ports, because there is very little for them to do there. They use foreign exchange certificates for currency in China, but they can only be spent at “friendship” stores. The encouragement to wander further afield in China is not great, because of the language barrier. “There is not much opportunity for recreation for the crew there,” Captain Olsen said. Most of the Diana Skou’s crew are Danish, but there are several Filipinos and a Dutchman (who speaks perfect Danish). The Diana Skou is one of ' three ships chartered out by their owner, the Ove Skou Shipping Company. The charters mean that the ships visit most ports of the world. Captain Olsen was only appointed master of his ship this year, but previously he was master of. two other ships owned by Ove Skou. He went to sea in 1959 (“I don’t know why I did it”) and has been a„ shipmaster for about three years. Although it was still a good way to “see the world,” people should not get the wrong impression, he said. “Many people think, that we are here to see the world, but we are here to do our job.” The Diana Skou spends five months at sea each year. When she returns home the crew get several months

rest, a union and management agreement that is probably duplicated throughout the world. Wool was not an unusual cargo for the Diana Skou. She was also carrying butter and steel for China. “We can carry everything." Captain Olsen 'said. The Diana Skou was built in 1973. she has five cargo holds, and a top speed of 18 knots. There are only two ships owned by Ove' Skou that

Captain Olsen has not worked in, although he would appear to have plenty of time left yet. Thirty-nine, he said, was not considered young for a Danish captain, “maybe even a little bit old.” The Chinese ports the Diana Skou will visit include Shanghai and Hsinkang, although she has another New Zealand port or two to call at before she heads into the Pacific. The ship’s present voyage will end in two months, when she will return to Denmark.