IDLE INTERSTATE SHIPPING.

Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 7, 8 July 1922, Page 12

IDLE INTERSTATE SHIPPING.

The post-war trad© depression which Australia has felt js slowly dying, but the ■shipping--aotivities aro: none too good op to the present. Australia is undoubtedly ,in tho best position in' regard to idle shipping compared with other countries. Many ships have been ticc. lip during the laat few months, and Melbourne has 15 steamers idle, aggregating some 50,000 tons.. Sydney hae ten _ steamers idle belonging to private shipping firms, and the five wooden vessels belonging to tho Common : wealth'are also idle because of 'dull times in the cargo business.

' The boats idle in Sydney are the Maheno, ZeaHndia, Westralia, Wakatipu, Taviuni, Noorebar, and Hcjpewell, and at Newcastle tho Corio, Iroi Baron,'and IrOn Prince. These aggregate , about 20,000 tons. Tho steamers idle in Melbourne aro the Dilga, Dumosa, Araluen, * Euroa, Eurimbla, Saros, Century, Cycle, Buninyong, Loongana, Rotomahana, Komura, Coolana, Malaita, and Coomonderry. This makes the tounage idle in Sydney and Melbourne alono 80,000. . Besides this, there. aro -a- number of boats idle in' Brisbane. If we were to have a good season or two we would once more see this fleet at work again.

JAPANESE MERCANTILE MARINE,

_ Increased activity in tho shipping industry in Japan has been apparent for some time, and officers of vessels running between Japanese and Australian ports agree that there seems not only to have been considerable expansion in the trade between the two'countries, but that the Japanese merchant marino flag is now floating over'a'much larger fleet than hitherto.; Substantiation of this is forth-, opining- in tho fact that Japanese concerns ' have recently purchased some 75,090 dead-, weight tons of British, ships,, this amount being- a' fair, percentage of the total tonnage sold in England during tho first quarter of this year. . In practically every instance tho vessels changed hands at'figures which would have been considered absurdly low a few years ago./ One s-hip of 7500 tons was sold ac recently.as 1919 for £125,000, but when offered for Bale again -a month or two ago tho vendors wero satisfied to be rid of her for £22,500. Another vessel which brought £150,000 in 1917- is now-worth, in view of tho stato of tho shipping-indus-try in every country where high' wages aro demanded, only £45,C00. Tho Japanese ship buyers are taking evory advantage of those prices, and are buying nip suitable vessels in propa.rat.ion for tho time when the industry revives, and when tho vessels may bo profitably employed.