OVERLOADED SHIPS

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 240, 11 July 1928, Page 3

OVERLOADED SHIPS

INTERNATIONAL ’ PROBLEM EFFECT ON FREIGHT MARKETS' The problem of the overloading of ships, to which reference was made in a cable message yesterday, is one that Is seldom in evidence in New Zealand. The Shipping’and ’ Seamen Act provides that overloaded, ships whether .British or foreign may be detained,. and that .the ’master of any ship is liable to. a heavy fine in respect of such an offence.’ It will be recalled that several-years ago the master of an oil tanker arriving at Wellington in an overloaded condition was fined on several. bccasions. The cable message stated: “The Board of Trade has accumulated so much evidence, of the , persistent overloading of British, ships-in foreign ports that it contemplates calling. together an International conference in the hope of securing a loading standard acceptable to all nations. The -Department has obtained reports from ’ mans-, consuls, ‘ and also evidence from shipmasters, from which it appears that heavy overloading, .often a foot above the Plimsoll mark, is .habitual In many parts of the wprld, especially on the American coast, ’ in, the: Mexican Gulf, and oh the River, Plate. Ship.owners, it is said, are primarily to ’ blame, because masters arc discharged if they refuse to overload, biit shipowners’ point out that the Plimsojl mark unfairly’handicaps them against, foreigners, who lead to the. limit. There arc, unfortunately, many shipmasters who overload abroad in order to impress owners, thereby-prejudicing later masters who object to the system.” , ‘ -Effect, on Freight Markets. Other .aspects of the problem of overloaded ships, notably the depressing effect on freight markets, are' discussed- by a shipowner in an. interesting article in “Lloyd’s List." He remarks that "The report that the Argentine Government Is at. last taking steps to prevent, or attempt to prevent, the evil of overloading, will be much welcomed in mdst quarters. That tonnage has left the River Plate overloaded, has in inahy instances been, proved. All the cases, or. practically all,' are of foreign flag, and one flag is prominent. , It cannot be gainsaid that there has been previous neglect on the part of the Argentine authorities, but they are not entirely to blame, for it may at once be pointd out that the captain- demands from ’the -shipper the amount'of cargo'he requires,'and it must of necessity be presumed’that he is acting under instructions frpm. His owners. "If the matter were carefully looked into,” he continues, “it would be found that in- many cases the vessels were old and .were .once under .British .flag. It would be interesting to know whether the former owners have taken any- interest in such vessels since' they left their flag, and whether they have ‘any record of cargoes recently carried, and have.'compared them with the cargoes previously loaded under their ownership. If the British owner did this he would be very surprised at the differences; he would quickly bp forced to the conclusion that he was being seriously handicapped by unfair competition, and he would readily Jump to the conclusion that here perhaps was’an indication of one way of lessening the amount-of tonnage which is trading on the world’s markets. If the present state of affairs as regards overloading were treated more strenuously, and if heavier penalties were inflicted by all Governments, substantial relief would.be afforded to tonnage-glutted markets. But action must not be confined to-British owners and the British Board of Trade.

"Without exaggeration of facts, it could probably be proved that many a vessel is at present carrying . between three hundred and four hundred tons more cargo than she previously did. If such a practice is widespread—and few 'will doubt that it is—the ..effect it .has . on the markets where it Is most common can be easily Imagined. Supposing,-: at a modest estimate, that' ten ships leave the River Plate ports per week (the Plate 1b by no means the only market in which-the evil exists; other markets, and especially the Black Sea, are to an: equal extent to blame) overloaded to the extent , of' 400 tons per ship, then over 200,000 tons of illegitimate cargo are being carried yearly. Further, the fact must not be overlooked that the carrying; of' this . extra, cargo makes it possible for owners who countenance it to cut- their rates of freight, to the very’ serious detriment, of' other owners, who abide by’the very■ necessary regulations ais to loadline.' .

■ “A remedy for this bad state of affairs., would - help - shipping considerably,but, apart from tile remedy, this attempt to analyse the evil may -bring home to British owners the • folly of selling eld vessels to foreigners and allowing themselves to be left- to pay the penalty of grossly unfair competition. Naturally enough there are owners who, in their anxiety to keep their fleets up to date as the best possible frelght-earntng-proposltions, make a- practice of getting rid of their old vessels, but they might well consider the alternative of running the old ships themselves as long as possible, and then seeing that they are sold for the scrapyard direct as soon as they are no longer a practicable commercial-proposition. There Is far too, much tonnage sold abroad; and it is tonnage .of this type, and not the new tonnage of go-ahead ■ firms, that generally ruins markets. The question of old tonnage Is well before , underwriters at the present moment,, and perhaps their decisions, • though no doubt severe at themoment and unpopular with-owners of old vessels; may. ultimately help to solve the problem - of the world’s superflous tonnage. "The -question, of overloaded and old tonnage is worth serious consideration and demands- more stringent action by those who-have the power in their hands to .'deal with the matter, be they underwriters or. shipowners. The result might not be very great, but it would be a step ini the right direction, and, apart from certainly helping unfair ■ competition, it might ultimately succeed in getting rid of-'a. lot of old tonnage which at the present time is merely a burden to the shipowning' industry in generalf.” - j”.