PORT OF WELLINGTON

Evening Post, Volume CXXIX, Issue 21, 25 January 1940, Page 6

PORT OF WELLINGTON

SHIPPING FIGURES ,

The number of vessels] at the Wellington wharves at the beginning of the month, it was stated at a meeting of the Wellington Harbour Board last evening, was fifty-one, the total tonnage being- 220,670. The chairman (Mr. M. A. Eliott), who presented the report, said the tonnage was not a record for the harbour: when the American fleet was here in 1925 the tonnage in the harbour was 320,000, but only 124,327 tons were at the wharves. Mr. Eliott said a review of the shipping and cargo statistics for December, compared with December, 1938, showed decreases in both the tonnage of shipping arrivals and the manifest tonnage of cargo handled. The net tonnage of shipping arrivals was 291,339 tons, as against 379,238 tons, a decrease of 87,899 tons. The manifest tonnage of cargo handled decreased from 183,626 tons to 123,806 tons, or > • 59,820 tons. The principal decreases were shown in general cargo imports from British and foreign ports (11,412 tons), and coastal and Australian ports (2873 tons); general cargo exports to coastal and Australian ports (4262 tons); coal imports (5528 tons); imports of oils in bulk (16,104 tons); timber imports (657,461 super feet); wool and hemp shipments (7898 bales); and butter and frozen meat shipments (1171 tons);! while an increase of 1353 tons was shown in cheese shipments. Mr. Eliott said the board was beginning to get the full force of the import restrictions. It was not fair to make a comparison of only one month —the only way to make a real comparison was to take a period of three or six months.