SHIPPING LAID UP

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21285, 12 September 1932, Page 10

SHIPPING LAID UP

OFFICERS AND MEN ! OLE DIFFICULTY OF GETTING WORK The cabled report tbat the Commonwealth and Dominion lane motor-ship Port Gisborne, which left London for New Zealand last week, has 18 certificated officers on board serving as deck hands, is an indication how the shipping trade depression has thrown out of employment large numbers of mercantile marine officers and masters. In every maritime country in the world fleets of vessels of all sizes are lying idle. Some idea of the unemployment among seamen and officers can be gauged from the fact that on July 1. 839 vessels, representing nearly 3,500,000 tons of British shipping, were laid up in the United Kingdom. In every port in Australia, vessels are laid up and crews are unemployed. Some months ago an Australian steamer, which had been sold to Eastern buyers, left Sydney for the East with five master mariners serving as able seamen. New Zealand' also has its quota of unemployed mariners. In Auckland alone there are 22 members of the Merchant Service Guild unemployed, in addition to a further number who are not members of the guild. There are also some members of southern branches of the guild who have conie to Auckland seeking employment at sea, but their names are not on the register of the Auckland branch of the guild. The list of unemployed officers has been further swelled by men arriving from Australia and Great Britain. They have come to New Zealand hoping that prospects will be better here. Instead of obtaining employment at sea, some officers have had to do relief work while others have taken up any work at all offering ashore. The small prospect of tjheir obtaining employment at sea is indicated by the fact that 11 Union Company's steamers are laid up in New, Zealand, and the Kairanga, which arrived at Auckland on Saturday, is to be laid up after discharging her cargo.' Unemployment is increasing all the time because of the largo number who arc qualifying as officers. In Great Britain during 12 months over 600 cadets obtained their second mate's certificate, and others passed their examination in the British possessions overseas.