SHIPPING

Evening Star, Issue 16398, 14 April 1917, Page 6

SHIPPING

The Government training ship Amokura is expected to leave Wellington some time next week on a cruise to the Kermadec Islands in search of possible castaways. The vessel will probably call at Great Barrier Island and Auckland on her way back to Wellington. ENHANCED VALUE OF TONNAGE. Advices received by the mail state that several more vessels well known in Australian waters have recently changed owners. Tlie vessels include "the Norwegian steel barque Alcides (2,432 tons register), wiiich Sir 0. W. Henricksen (of Risor) disposed of to the Skibsaktcr “ Noreg ” (T. Sunt and T. M. Holt), of Christiania; the steel barque Lauriston (2,133 tons register), built by Messrs Workman, Clark, and Co., at Belfast, in 1892, and sold to tile Hudson Bay Company (Sale and Co., London) by Messrs Eggar, Forrester, and Parker; the ship Ainsdale, which was built in 1839 at a cost of £33,268, and realised £65.000; also the Japanese steamer hliiuko Maru, ex Woodford, which realised £19,000 in May, 1914, and has now chamrcd owners at £150,000. AM AID TO GERMAN SHIPPING. The establishment of a ship mortgage bank at Hamburg appears to be the latest project for assisting German skipping and shipbuilding industries. Hitherto the larger shipping companies, when in need of extra resources, have made use of the general money market by the issue of debentures, but the smaller firms have only had limited opportunities of obtaining financial accommodation. With a. mortgage bank, it is contended, they will bo able to find the help they require in adding to their tonnage, and thus extending the Gorman mercantile marine after the war, which the Press in general declares to bo an “ urgent necessity.” It may be remembered that before the wav suggestions for the establishment of ship mortgage banks were viewed with much disfavor in Hamburg and other shipping centres. PRODUCTION OF' BRITISH STEAMERS. In the annual report of Lloyd’s Shipping Register it is stated : “ In the- United Kingdom merchant shipbuilding is still seriously restricted by the necessity for the production of war vessels of various kinds, and, although there has recently been some acceleration in the rate of progress in the construction of vessels, the output remains far below that of, normal times. _ In neutral countries, and particularly the United States of America, every effort has been, and is being, mado by moans of the extension of existing plants and the creation of now establishments to cope with the increasing demand for tonnage. That a large measure of success has attended these efforts is evident from the fact that there is now Uoinrg built, under the inspection of Lloyd’s Register of Shipping, with a view or classification, a larger amount of shipping than has over boon recorded in the history of the society—namely, 620 vessels, of 2,282,709 tons. At the close of the year ended Juno 30 10,032 merchant vessels registering 23 million tons gross, held classes assigned by the committee of Lloyd’s Register. These figures, largo as they are, show a falling off from the highwater mark of the previous year, thus reflecting the heavy- losses which have been occasioned by the war.”

SHIPPING TELEGRAMS.

LYTTELTON, April 14.-11.T5 a.m., Tarawera, from Dunedin.