SHIPPING.

Evening Star, Issue 16628, 10 January 1918, Page 1

SHIPPING.

HIGH WATER. 'TO-MORROW, Taiaroa Head ; 0.51 a.m., 1.18 p.m. Port Chalmers ; 1.31 a.m., 1.58 p.m. Dunedin : 2.1 a.m., 2.28 p.m. THE SUN. Sots to-day, 7.54 p.m.: rises to-morrow, 4.37 a.m. PHASES OF THE MOON. New moon Jan. 13 f0.6 a.m. First quarter Jan. 20 2.8 a.m. Full moon Jan. 27 2.44 p.m. Last quarter Feb. 4 7.22 p.m. Sets to-day, 5.30 p.m.: rises to-morrow, 2.15 a.m. WEATHER REPORTS. The Government Meteorologist (Rev. D. C. Bates) supplied the following weather reports at 9 a.m. to-day i

Wind.—L, light; br, breeze; fb, fresh breeze; rn g, moderate gale; g, whole or heavy gale; w, gale of exceptional severity. Weather.—B,. blue sky, be the atmosphere clear or .heavy; C, clouds, passing clouds; D,. drizzling rain; F. foggy; G, gloomy, dark weather; 11, hail; L, lightning ; M, misty; O, overcast, the whole sky covered with thick clouds; P,. passing showers; Q, squally; 11, rain, continued rain; S, snow; T, thunder; U, ugly, threatening appearance; Z, hazy. Forecast. The Government Meteorologist (Rev. D. C. Bates) supplied the following at noon to-day : —Moderate easterly winds, veering to south; mist and fog in parts ; rain probable; glass has a falling tendency; tides good; sea moderate. ARRlVED.—January 10. John, s'.s. (7.20 a.m.), 339 tons, Hawick, from Wellington and Tiraaru. Corinria, s.s. (10 a.m.), 1,271 tons. Elders, from Wellington direct. EXPECTED ARRIVALS. Te Anau, from Auckland, January 12. Putiki, from Wellington, January 13. Portland, scow, from Auckland, Jan. 14. Breeze, from Lyttelton. January 14. Kotare, from Invercargill, January 15. Calm, from Wanganui via ports, Jan. 15. Kaitangata, from Westport, January 15.' Storm, from Lyttelton, January 16. Corinna, from Wellington, January 20. John, from Wanganui via ports, Jan. 20. Monowai, from- Auckland, January 20. PROJECTED DEPARTURES. John, for Wanganui via ports, this day. Kotare, for Bluff, Invercargill, Jan. 11. Corinna, for New Plymouth, Jan. 11. Breeze, for Wanganui via ports, Jan. 14. Putiki, for Wellington via ports, Jan. 14. Te Anau, for Auckland, January 14. Calm, for Wanganui via ports, Jan. 15. Storm,, for’ Wanganui via ports, Jan. 16. Kaitangata, for Bluff, January 17. Monowai, for Auckland, January 22. The John, which arrived at Dunedin this morning from Wellington and Timaru, brought a large quantity of general cargo. She sails to-morrow for Oamaru, Wellington, and Wanganui. The Government steamer Hinemoa adjusted her compasses in the stream at Wellington on Monday morning, aud sailed in the evening on her round trip to northern and West Coast lighthouses. The Corinna arrived here at 10 a.m. to-day from Wellington direct. She brought several hundred tons of general cargo for discharge. The -vessel wall sail to-morrow for Oamaru, Tiniaru, Lyttelton, Wellington, Nelson, and New Plymouth. Tlie Union Company’s.hulk lima, which has been on the Wellington patent slip for several weeks, being refitted as e barquentine, is now having her masts fitted. It is expected that the vessel will he ready for sea before the end of the month.

The Westport Coal Company’s collier Canopus came out of dock at' Lyttelton on Tuesday, and the Canterbury Shipping Company’s steamer Storm, which is undergoing annual overhaul there, was docked in her place. A report has reached Queenstown from Martin’s Bay (says the Wakatip ‘ Mail ’) to the effect that a quantity of wreckage is being washed ashore at' Big Bay and Martin's Bay. No less than 17 hatches off a vessel liavc been seen on the beaches, also spars, deck planking, etc., all of which are considerably broken. It was decided at a meeting of the Merchant Service Guild, held at Wellington on Monday, to see what action can be taken with a view to obtaining compensation for the relatives of the crew of the Wairuna. The loss of the vessel, it will be remembered, was a mystery. While on a trip to San Francisco from Auckland in June of last year the vessel disappeared, and has never been heard of since. A big fleet of sailing vessels has been chartered by J. J. Moore and Go., of Ban Francisco, for 1919 loading, to carry lumber to Australian ports. It is estimated that the nine vessels obtained for the trade will take about 9.000,000 ft of California, Oregon, and Washington redwood, pine, fir, spruce, and other varieties of lumber. Scores of the famous American clipper ships that carried cargoes between San Francisco and New York 30 and 40 years ago and later transformed into barges are being once more brought back into deepwater service. Scarcity of tonnage makes any kind of vessel useful nowadays. The E. B. Sutton is being rorigged, and is expected to be making long voyages soon. Others to be returned to oil-shore duty are the Luzon, New Jersey. Sea King, I. F. Chapman, Governor Eohie, and Henry Failing. At the request of a prominent harbor engineer, a Gisborne engineer has carried out some experiments with a mew to testing the possibility of making concrete from papa. The local qjigineer has produced a small slab of material, capable of such resistance as to warrant the expectation that with further experiments a concrete suitable for harbor works may be produced. Messrs Brownlee, Ltd., the well-known Wellington timber company, who have been part owner of the trim little scow Hazel Ecpton, have now taken over complete ownership of that vessel. The Hazel Repton has been laid up at anchorage in Evans Bay, Wellington, for several weeks owing to the scarcity of seamen to man her. An endeavor will now be made to recommission the scow, and she will then be despatched for Grey month,- probably, to load for Wellington.

THE FERRY SERVICE. The Maori arrived at Lyttelton at 7.20 a.m., and connected with the first express for the south. t WEST!’OUT HARBOR RETURNS. Ihe part of Westport returns for the month of December, 1917, are as follow ; —Output and export of coal ; Westport Coal Company, Ltd., coal output, 33,328 tons lOcwt; export, 34,157 tons 17cwt; coke output, 73 tons lOcwt; export, 73 tons lOcwt. Westport-Stockton Coal Company, Ltd., output, 11,843 tons lOcwt; export, 11,706 tons 12cwt. Coal Creek Mining party, output, 114 tons 19cwt; export, 105 tons llowt. Total, output, 45,360 tons 9cwt; export, 46,043 tons lOcwt. Of this amount 2,464 tons were shipped to foreign ports. Export of timber, 14,031 sup. feet. During the month 48 steamers, representing 28,168 torus, entered the port, and 49 steamers, representing 29,397 tons, left the port; total tonnage for the month., 57,565. MEN AFLOAT AND ASHORE. Captain R. Pearson, who was well known as master of the Oponri, has icceived' an appointment in the trawling fleet under the British Admiralty. Mr E. J. Looney has relinquished the position of chief engineer of the Kini. Mr A. Garsland, chief steward of the Poherua, signed off the vessel’s articles at Wellington on Monday. UP-TO-DATE JAPAN. Twenty thousand men will bo employed at the new Japanese shipbuilding plant being built at fokuyama, an island., seaport near- Shimonoseki, by the Kuhara Mining Company (says Sydney ‘ Shipping List’), Mr Kuhara, the young mining engineer of the Ann, has chosen the site for his uncle, Baron D. Fajita, and the work of construction will take a year to complete. Mr Kuhara plans to make the concern after the model of the Krupp works at Essen, and the Vickers Company at Barrow. The utmost attention will be paid to questions of hygiene, and education and comfort of the workpeople, who, with their families, will all live in the neighborhood of the factories. Practically a self-contained town will be erected, which will provide everything necessary to minister to the moral and physical well-being of the employees. Mr Chozo Koike, former director of the political bureau of the Tokio Foreign Office, is general manager of the firm. Mr Kuhara, though only 30 years old, is accounted the wealthiest man in Japan. A GENERAL AVERAGE CASE. An interesting case of general average has just been decided. The steamer Aislaby, whilst on a voyage from Kustendjie to Cette with a cargo of grain, stranded near Cette in a fog. During the efforts to float her, owing to the many rocks and reefs in the vicinity, the vessel took the ground on two other occasions, and before she was ultimately floated into deep water on the following' day part of the. cargo had to be jettisoned and tug assistance obtained. The damages sustained and the expenses incurred were very heavy, and the cargo’s portion amounted to over £7,000. The cargo owners disputed the general average statement, mainly on the ground that the second and third stranding® wore purely fortuitous, .and. were not the result of manojuvres ’ deFinerately' undertaken" for the purpose of saving the ship and cargo, and that therefore the damages so caused should have been classed as particular average. The Court of Appeal at Aix decided the case entirely in'ihe shipowners’ favor, and held that the second and third- strandiugs were the result of manoeuvres voluntarily undertaken by the captain in order to get the steamer out of a dangerous position, and that therefore the. damages thereby incurred were properly treated as general average. , SHIPBUILDING IN AMERICA. FIRST 9,400-TON CARGO BOAT. The United States Government have laid down their first 9,400 tons cargo boat, and there was considerable ceremony at the new shipbuilding yards at Hackensack Meadows when the first rivet was driven. In addition to the 10 ways for the construction of merchant ships 'of ordinary type and tonnage, two great ways, 1,009 ft in length, are being provided in which to construct leviathan ships, and it is understood these berths will be occupied as soon as the cargo ships have been constructed. This is the only shipbuilding plant in the United. States' that will be prepared to build boats of the Lusitania type. The United States Government are pursuing a very vigorous shipbuilding policy on both coasts, according to Mr J. Mitchell, who has just returned to Sydney from a business trip to America for Messrs Burns, Philp, and Go. Mr Mitchell states that the United - States Government are very determined in this direction, and already some of the yards intended to be used for building the'standardised ships are well on the way to completion. These yards are built on a very big scale, as it is the intention of the Government to accommodate several vessels at the one time. In Snn Francisco a ship is _ being built of reinforced concrete. This is only an experiment; but Mr Mitchell states that high hopes are entertained by the promoters of the enterprise for its success. In commercial circles Mr Mitchell says that everything is moving at a great rate, although some little inconvenience has been caused by the working of the draft system in connection with America’s army. This inconvenience is borne by all in turn, however, and affairs proceed without any appreciable hitch. (For continuation sec Late Shipping.)

Bar. Ther. Weath. Auckland—N.E., f ... 30.09 70 BC Napier—E., br ... ... 30.08 71 BO Wellington—N., 1 ... 30.09 66 0 Westport—N.E., 1 ... Greymouth—N.E., 1 Bealey—E., 1 30.05 70 C , 30.00 65 0 30.07 61 0 Christchurch—Calm ... 30.13 64 0 Tim am—E., 1 ... ... 30.03 65 OD Oamaru—Calm 30.00 69 0 Dunedin—Cairn 30.05 60 O Queenstown —Cohn ... 29.91 70 .BC Nuggets—N., 1 Bluff— E., f 29.95 55 O 30.02 55 OF Clyde—Calm 73 C Balclutha—Calm 58 0 Invercargill—S.. 1 ... 30.03 60 O Naseby—Calm 65 c Pt. Chalmers—S.W., 1 30.06 63 R Pembroke—S.W., 1 ... 70 RO Roxburgh—S.E., I ... — 67 0.