SOUTHERN COASTAL TRADE

Evening Star, Issue 16662, 19 February 1918, Page 4

SOUTHERN COASTAL TRADE

BOOM IN -SMALL VESSELS.

.DOLLY VARDEN PURCHASED. . Tho great scarcity of tonnage as a" result of the war has brought about a noticeable change in regard to shipping generally in all parts of the world. It may bo safely said that hundreds of vessels of all descriptions and tonnage which were otherwise doomed to end their days as humble coal hulks have been resurrected, relitted, and put into commission again. New Zealand is only a very small country as far as shipping is concerned, but the scarcity of ships has had, and is having, a great effect on tho whole of the Dominion. •Shipowners, however, are rising to the occasion, and every bottom which is found to be in good order is now being turned into use. Take, for example, the Union Company's famous old hulk Dartford, which was at_ one time a staunch sailing" ship, and was then dismantled and usecl as a coal hulk in Wellington Harbor for many years. The company recognised the necessity for more tonnage, with the result that this old ship was towed to Port Chalmers, where she is now being refitted out as a seagoing vessel again. Then there is the case of the hulk Lilla, another sailing ship of the old clays. She was also used as a coal hulk at Wellington for many years, but was recently towed to Lyttelton, where she is now- being refitted out as a cargo steamar. These are only, two cases, but the same thing is going on in almost every port in the British Empire, and many_ an old vessel, both sail and steam, which was at one time tho pride of her owner, _ but which had long been out of commission, is once again ploughing the deep. The scarcity of tonnage has been a regular boon to small owners trading on the New Zealand coast. Thero are a large number of coastal shipping companies registered at the various Dominion ports, and the vessels employed have, carried on a very profitable trade since the outbreak of war. This coastal trade extends from as far north as Whangarei down to Bluff, and several vessels have visited Ditnedin at recent dates which had very seldom made such long passages before. There is evidently going* to be a big trade in the future between Dunedin and Southern ports, judging by the number of vessels which will shortly he employed in these waters. - The Kotare is tho only steamer at present engaged in this trade regularly, although much larger .vessels make a trip occasionally between Dunedin and Bluff. However, Dunedin shipping firms are of the opinion that the trade between this port and Bluff is a lucrative one, and with this object in view a local syndicate recent!? sent a representative to Auckland to inspect the auxiliary schooner May Howard, which had been laid up at tho northern port for many months past. The inspection proving to be satisfactory, this vessel was purchased, and will come to Dunedin shortly to enter the DunedinBluff cargo trade. The Mary Howard, however, is to have a competitor. The auxiliary schooner Dollv Varden, which has been 'laid up at Bluff for some time, will also enter the Dunedin- . Bluff-Timaru-Oamaru trade very shortly. This vessel was formerly engaged in the Bluff fishing industry. 'She is "at present being refitted out at Bluff, and will probably arrive here in a. few days. The Dolly Varden is an auxiliary schooner of 29 tons gross register, and will carry about oO tons of cargo. She was built at ManKonui, New Zealand, in 1872 for the Port Pegasus Fishing Company, Ltd.. and is of the following dimensions:—Length 56ft 9m, breadth 15ft 3in, and depth 6ft. Captain D'Oridant, who is part-owner of the vessel, will, he in command. Ho is at present at Bluff superintending the work of refitting. Mr H. Guthrie will act as the Dunedin agent for the Dolly Varden. Jt is understood that another'local shipping firm are at present negotiating for the purchase of a most serviceable coastal steamer in the north for the Dunedin trade, and negotiations are also, it is understood, now being carried on for the purchase of still another vessel of 78 tons gross register for the southern trade. The schooner Gisborne, which was purchased some time ago by a local syndicate, is at present undergoing alterations at the Dunedin wharf. Nothing definite has yeHieen decided in regard to the Gisborne,* but the vessel 1 will, in all probability, enter the southern coastal trade.