Idle Ships Add To Cost Of Imports

Northern Advocate, 8 January 1948, Page 2

Idle Ships Add To Cost Of Imports

Napier, Thu. (Sp.).—Over Christmas and New Year many ships were tied up in New Zealand ports. “When a ship costing £1,000,000 is not being operated even for a day the loss incurred is considerable," said Mr Warwick Gregory, a director of the Port Line, who is visiting the Dominion. speaking at a luncheon on board the vessel Port Napier. Shipping costs had risen rapidly since before the war. He could say they were now nearly four times what they were before the war. It was the importance of the valuable cargoes such as this ship was carrying that prompted Mr Gregory to emphasise the need for keeping ships moving. In arranging a ship’s itinerary, shipowners had to make calculations covering potential delays, said Mr Gregory. When he learned the Port Napier would lose several days loading between Christmas Eve and January 5 he had to make a very serious decision in selecting Napier as the .ship’s first pert of call. It was not right, he concluded, that the huge capital sums invested in shipping and harbour facilities should be out of operation for long periods.