SHIPPING NOTES .

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18293, 9 July 1921, Page 13

SHIPPING NOTES .

A CHEERLESS OUTLOOK. FREIGHTS and costs. THE NEW ZEALAND TRADE. N(From Oub Own Correspondent.) LONDON, May 13. A certain amount of finesse is needed now to get the New Zealand vessels away from British ports. Should any vessel arrive from the dominions without a email quantity of coal to spare, her chances of leaving port again are small. Already the long-drawn-out joiners’ strike has diverted vessels to Continental ports for repair aod refitting, and now the coal strike is sending vessels to the Continent to coal. The Arawa, which left the Thames last week, did not appear at Southampton until a few days later. In the meantime she had been to the Hook of Holland for her coal sup* ply. Other vessels have had to call aft Rotterdam before leaving for the Panama. OWNERS’ TROUBLES. * j

Owing to Labour troubles in New Ze&> land, n is found difficult to put the vessels into regular rotation—indeed, a lew 'weeks ago an interval of a week elapsed, during wuich there was no regular nner of the Shaw, Saviil, and Albion Company ia British ports, an event which has not happened lor many years. In due course they will doubtless arrive in a bunch, and hard to lio jdie awaiting a cargo. , f This is evidently on© oi many trouibiKa. After prolonged negotiations it has been arranged to carry cheese at lid per lb, plus 10 per cent, but shipowners are still of the opinion that this is an exceedingly generous 'rate, and is something iif the nature of patriotism rather than business. As an example of what lias to bo faced at the present time, it is stated that a certain vessel recently made tiie return trip nt u loss of £15,0u0. On the outward journey it was carrying a full compement of third class passengers, and on the Homeward journey it had a normal cargo; yet this loss resulted, without making any - ab. lowance cither for depreciation or interna. Fortunately, this is not the case on ©very voyage, or else there could be only one ending to the shipping business. It is evident, however, that the 1 immigrant passenger trade is not very remunerative. For one tiling the large number of stewards carried out to New Zealand have to be brought bade again, during which time they are doing little or no work, being fed, and drawing their full wages. r ATLANTIC TRADE. ’ ‘ In the Atlantic trade passenger rates have just been increased 10 per cent., but this does not meet the extra cost of running boats while conditions remain as they' arti The leading owners in the South American trade met recently in Paris, but it was decided to leave matters where they are 'for the present, although most lines are.being worked at a loss. It is reported -that The lines running to Australia and the East ate all working at a loss iust now, but it would he a matter of some difficulty' ty raise passage rates, as most travellers -regard the fares asked as quite high enough. The only thing to do is to cut out sotncTdt the luxuries and reduce the working expenses. „ COOKS AND STEWARDS’ STRIKE. A new trouble has arisen in thefehafi* of a stewards’ strike, owing to dipagifeement on the part of the catering : department panel of the National Maritime Board to a reduction in wages, which has been accepted by other classes of shipping employees represented on the board. Negotiations have been going on since Februimr on the subject of wages in the mercantile murine. In view of the extreme .depression in shipping, the owners some time;-MO proposed a reduction of £5 10s in me catering department and £4- IDs fordesk officers, engineer officers, sailors, and men on “monthly” boats, with proportionate reductions on “weekly” boats. 'Later they modified these to'reductions of £2 10» on monthly boats and 8s 6d on weekly, and the last meeting of the board wa a adjourned for the various sections to consult their members. At the same time it was unanimously agreed that a joint committee should consider the practicability of framitijr a scheme for the permanent regulation w wages on the basis of a sliding scale 'boaforming with the cost of bring, and also for making, if possible, some provision for participation in profits. The representative# of the catering department had previously departed from the meeting, holding thab the question of their wages should be dealt with by their special panel. Such a meeting was subsequently held, and the owners offered to make the reduction in - their £2 10s as in the case of other classes. AH the latter have now- agreed to the modified reductions. But at a further meeting of the beard the stewards refused to accept any thing less than the existing standard rates. The shipowners therpupoji intimated that they considered themselves freed from the existing scales and conditions go far ns the catering department wsb concerned, end would only be prepared I*> employ men in that department at rates reduced by the same amount as had beeli agreed to by other ranks and ratings and with revised overtime conditions. Possibly cooks and stewards on liners have not'yet experienced the ‘ hard lessons of a trade slump which the seamen and officers hatvs lately undergone in looking for cargo ships, and the opinion is held that their w culd be wise to promptly recognise is better to be content with little less thaa to have nothing at all. The wages proposed do not involve a reduction below pre-war rates, even allow-ing for the of 133 per cent, in the cost of living. In thq heme trade catering department an assistant steward on a passenger vessel whose food is found would be reduced from £3 to £2 11s 6d weekly and on a cargo vessel; » cook-steward, also with food found, would be reduced from £4 15s to £4 6s 6d. MINIMUM SCALE OF FREIGHTS/ Problems affecting the depressed shipping industry are now being discussed' at The Baltic and White Sea Conference.' Mr- VtL J. Noble. Newcastle, in his presidential address said he saw no hope of a revival in overseas trade, on which shipping depended until a real peace- /ih Europe was established and the wOrld settled down to work. Even then it. would be a well-nigh hopeless aim, .unle|g such an. atmosphere could be created? is would encourage the nations to give up their competition in armaments and pre-, paraticn for war. Unless this penditure was abandoned, either voluntarily or by mutual agreement, there was nothing bet bankruptcy ahead. There was another phase cf this expenditure, expressing itself in a most insidious way, that directly, affected the shipping industry. They had the spectacle of the Governments -cjf Canada, Australia, and the United Statefr all embarking upon the business of shipowning— not because of any trade necessity, not because thd existing services Were either insufficient, or inefficient, but _ with the ulterior object of training and building up a naval reserve in anticipation of the next war.

Never in the history of the Conferenbb had they gathered together when the shipping outlook was less cheerful, and' thejj? minds almost unconsciously went back To 1905, when a similar state of affairs existed, and the Conference was brought into being: Then, as now, they suffered from the aftermath of war—great depression in trade, with costs on the war level. They were then impelled to create a minimum scale of freights. The minimum scale did not achieve all that was expected, but it did arrest ihc fall and enable steamers to be employed. It might bo necessary to have recourse to some expedient of the same kind, not only to_ avoid losses, but to minimise the distressing unemployment that is so prevalent.

The total values of the trade of the United Kingdom with Germany during- 1020 are officially given as follows; —lmports of good* consigned from Germany, £31,078,000; exports of produce and manufactures ot the United Kingdom consigned to Germany, £21,300,000; exports of foreign and-colonial merchandise' consigned to Germany, £29.150,000 Poland is the sixth largest State in. Europe, and its population of 30,000,000 makes it one of the most densely inhabited regions of Europe. While the country i* predominantly agricultural, it possesses a highly developed textile industry, in addition to such natural resources as timber, coa|, and petroleum. '