Shipping firms condemn charging for forecasts

Press, 10 January 1986, Page 5

Shipping firms condemn charging for forecasts

New Zealand's two biggest shipping companies have joined airlines in condemning the principle of commercial users paying for their weather forecasts.

The Meteorological Office had not yet clarified how it would charge shipping com-

panies, but it was looking at charging all users who got special forecasts, said the chief of the national forecasting centre in Wellington, Mr Ray Smith. Airlines and shipping companies were the main commercial users of special forecasts, he said.

“The weather information ships provide to us is very valuable and there will have to be some off-set in cost to take this into account,” said Mr Smith.

The general manager of the Union Steam Ship Company’s fleet division, Mr David McPherson, said yesterday that if one user had to pay, all users should. This would include newspapers, television and members of the public who used automatic forecasts, he said.

The marine safety controller for the New Zealand Line, Captain Brian Hinderwell, said he could not see how shipping companies could be charged forecasts. “I cannot quite see how a method of costing could be evolved. How are they going to charge when the information sent out is on open radio networks?”

Ships provided a lot of weather information so it seemed a case of give and take, said Captain Hinderwell.