Union Nelson to be withdrawn

Press, 19 December 1985, Page 7

Union Nelson to be withdrawn

The Union Company’s coastal ship Union Nelson arrived at Lyttelton last evening on her final voyage before being withdrawn from service. The 4950-ton container vessel will sail from Lyttelton to Wellington today, where she will be laid up pending a decision on her future. The company has yet to decide whether she will be sold or used as a Tasman trader. The Union Nelson is the latest victim of a slump in coastal shipping that has seen coastal tonnages through Lyttelton decline 25 per cent in recent months. Earlier this year, Pacifica Shipping withdrew from service one of its two coastal ships, Spirit of Free Enterprise. The Union Nelson has two crews, each of 19 men and each including seven officers. The officers are permanent employees and will be placed in other company vessels. The other 24 crew will go “on the corner,” and seek vacancies in other ships. The Union Company’s Lyttelton port manager, Mr Ross Greenstreet, said that the ship’s withdrawal would not affect the careers of 30 workers at the company’s Lyttelton office. Mr Greenstreet said that increased competition for coastal cargoes and cost increases had been the main reason for the Union Nelson’s demise. “The cost increases came at a time when freight rates were very depressed. In a competitive atmosphere you cannot put freight rates up — people will withdraw

their support.” He said that the ship’s profitability had always been marginal. She began service in March, 1982. Cargoes had declined in recent months to unacceptable levels. The Union Nelson was built in 1980, and was first used in the Mediterranean under the name, Sunny Karina. The Union Company bought her in 1982 for $8 million to replace the Titoki, which had plied between Onehunga and Nelson. The new ship was put on a 14-day run connecting Onehunga, New Plymouth, Nelson, and Lyttelton. The New Plymouth call was

dropped after about six months because of lack of support. After that, the Union Nelson called at the three remaining ports once a week until this week. The ship’s withdrawal leaves the Union Company with no regular coastal service. Mr Greenstreet said that no new service was planned in the near future. Lyttelton now has two regular coastal services: Pacifica’s Lyttelton to Wellington run with the Spirit of Competition, and the New Zealand Line’s Coastal Trader, which calls weekly at Auckland, Lyttelton, and Dunedin.