South Is. stocks of L.P.G. nearly dry

Press, 16 May 1984, Page 1

South Is. stocks of L.P.G. nearly dry

By

LYN HOLLAND

South Island supplies of liquefied petroleum gas are dwindling because of a dispute over the crewing of the new $l6 million L.P.G. tanker Tarihiko.

The new Dunedin bulk depot for L.P.G. ran dry about a week ago and South Island reserves were now being exhausted, said the manager of the Christchurch Gas Company’s L.P.G. Centre, Mr Vince Matthews, last evening. The L.P.G. Centre nad enough reserves for commercial and industrial users to last another few days, but sales to private car owners would probably stop today, he said. The Tarihiko arrived in Wellington last month and was hailed by the chairman of Liquigas, Ltd, Sir George Chapman, as the most important link in establishing the national distribution of L.P.G. The national secretary of the Seamen’s Union, Mr Dave Morgan, confirmed that the dispute was over the number of crew on the ship and that negotiations between maritime unions and the Shipping Corporation were continuing. The specially constructed ship is owned by Liquigas and managed by the Shipping Corporation. Its first shipment of 1000 tonnes of Maui L.P.G. from Port Taranaki was expected at the Dunedin depot last week.

A spokesman for the corporation said he hoped that negotiations would be completed by the end of this week, and that the ship would sail from Wellington to New Plymouth at the

beginning of next week. This would mean L.P.G. should reach the South Island by the end of next week, he said. The general manager of Liquigas, Mr F. J. A. Easther, said the problem would be resolved with patience. If it became essential eight-tonne tanks aboard smaller cargo ships could be used to ship the gas to the South Island. However, this was an uncertain way of shipping the gas, it was expensive, and it could not provide the quantity now needed in the South Island. A lot of money had been spent by Liquigas to build depots and ships for bulk storage and shipment. The last shipment to the Dunedin depot was in February, when the chartered Coral Gas carrier delivered 1200 tonnes. That delivery was also delayed by a dispute, but the action by New Plymouth watersiders was over the loading and unloading of that ship and was unrelated to the problem of crewing the Tarihiko, Mr Easther said. Mr Matthews said customers at the L.P.G. Centre had been asked for several days to conserve the gas as much as possible, as a shortage was imminent.

More vehicles were using the centre as other sources ran dry but customers were used to shortages and were heeding the call to conserve the gas. The centre, the largest

supplier of L.P.G. in Christchurch, had a shipment from Dunedin last week and was one of the last depots supplied, he said. While most motorists could simply switch over to using petrol, his main concern was for commercial and industrial users, he said.

The director of the Canterbury Manufacturers’ Association, Mr lan Howell, said that the few companies that had been approached had reasonable supplies of the gas but the association was most concerned.

The general manager of Blue Star Taxis, Mr K. J. Murphy, said his company, with more than 100 cars using L.P.G., had run out of the gas. It was “grim” that South Islanders had been encouraged by the Government to spend money converting vehicles to L.P.G. and then could not get adequate supplies. He had expressed his concern in a telegram to the Minister of Labour, Mr Bolger, and the Minister of Energy, Mr Birch, last week, but he had not been satisfied with the reply that negotiations were continuing.

Even if the dispute ended today it would be two or three weeks before his company received any L.P.G. Other South Island cities such as Invercargill, Dunedin and Timaru would be in a similar serious situation by now, Mr Murphy said. The regional manager of New Zealand Industrial Gases, Ltd, Mr Roger Har-

vey, said its supplies were also dwindling rapidly. However, it was luckier than other companies because it had its own storage. It had enough gas to last until May 25, but even if the dispute was resolved today it would take about eight days to get more L.P.G. The Wharenui Garage had some supplies of L.P.G. last evening but it was almost exhausted and it would probably be selling only to regular customers, said a contractor, Mr Malcolm Kerslake.