FAST FREIGHTERS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXII, 7 December 1938, Page 8

FAST FREIGHTERS

MODERN CARGO SHIPS SERVICES TO BRITAIN CONTRAST WITH PAST The remarkable feat of the Shaw, Savill and Albion motor-ship Waiinarama, which reached Auckland from Liverpool, via Panama, ill 27 days eight hours on her maiden voyage lias drawn attention to the quality of the service given the Dominion by the cargo vessels in the Home trade (states the “N.Z. Herald”). ’J his performance, and those regularly achieved by many other ships running to and from Britain, indicate how far past is the time when the freighter and its work was sharply divided in popular feeling from the passenger liners. New Zealand has always been well served by its passenger ships, but the vessels designed more particularly for cargo carriage have built a tradition of their own in recent years. HIGH AVERAGE SPEED AH the companies in the England-New Zealand trade now have efficient, wellfound motor-ships, which seldom exceed 31 days on their voyages and which frequently make the journey either via Panama or Cape Horn in 29 and 30 days. The speed of this fleet is forming a general interest comparable with that shown in the voyages of the clippers. Most of the ships are between 10,000 and 12,000 tou gross register and are capable of averaging speeds of up to 19 knots on the long run between the two countries, even when fully laden with cargo. An instance of this was given last year by the Federal Line motor-ship Essex, which reached Auckland from Liverpool in 27 days 21 hours steaming time when drawing 33ft 7in at the stern, a port merchant shipping record.

POPULARITY WITH PASSENGERS Special Board of Trade passenger licences are not necessary if less than 12 passengers are carried and many of the cargo ships are fitted with excellent accommodation to carry up to this number. This means of travel has proved very popular among a large section of passengers. Until recent years the passenger ship was a liner and other vessels bore the general designation of tramps. The modern tendency of many trades, however, is toward cargo liners of the type in the Dominion trade and away from tramp ships. The tramp is chartered by one party at a time for single cargoes, while the cargo line is engaged regularly on more or less defined routes, and it has been found that a quicker turnover is permitted if the cargo is constantly received in small consignments. The number of British tramp steamers, once always referred to as the “backbone of the Merchant Service,’’ has de-, dined rapidly and cargo liners of greater speed and capacity have been built. Speed is increasingly demanded for ships ol this type and engineers have made great improvements in the reliability and economy of the machinery. Hull construction has been an important subject for th'*. ships have to maintain a time-table in all weathers.

CHEWS' IMPBOVED CONDITIONS In keeping with the general trend special consideration is being given in the construction of modern ships to conditions of life for their complements. Last year the Board of Trade, with the help and approval of shipowners an i organisations representing officers and seamen, drew up a new set of regulations to remove one of the main causes ol grievance by seafarers against their employers. Drastic changes in accommodation arrangements are making British ships the most comfortable and hygienic in the world. Officers in the cargo ships interchange • with those in the passenger liners and n aintain a high standard of efficiency | as specialists and in general seamanship Improvements in living conditions and al so the displacement of steam by oil ha*.e • been reflected in the type of crews manning the vessels. In the past decade the former roystering life of the waterfront lias, wita tlie exception of occasional outbursts, become almost non-existent.