THE PORT OF OTAGO.

Otago Witness, Issue 3833, 30 August 1927, Page 7

THE PORT OF OTAGO.

PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS.

IMPROVEMENTS THAT ARE NECESSARY.

By Viator

Members of the community who have the welfare of our city at heart realise that our prosperity is dependent on our shipping trade. The present methods of administration of the affairs of the Otago Harbour Board cause grave concern in many quarters and the general feeling is that unless some radical change takes place our port will suffer in the near future. At the present time the members of the board representing Port Chalmers appear to be under the impression that, to safeguard the interests of those whom they represent, they must do all possible to prevent the advancement of the Upper Harbour, the theory, apparently, being that Port Chalmers will, by this method, retain the overseas trade. Surely, they must realise that the policy they support will not advance their cause one iota and that the citizens of Dunedin, from whom the bulk of the trade of tli3 port originates, naturally will insist on their cargo being loaded and discharged over the Dunedin wharves; and, if the affairs of the board receive due consider,! tion, this will be the natural sequence of events. After all, this will not deprive those members of the Port Chalmers community who labour on the waterfront of their livelihood, as the work will still have to be carried out at Dunedin, and (by the expenditure of a small sum in a weekly workers' ticket and the amalga mation Of the Dunedin and Por t Chalmers Waterside Unions) the present workers at Port Chalmers will be enabled to carry out their present occupation. Unfortunately, however, the foregoing is not the only stumbling block to carrying out a vigorous policy in the advancement of the affairs of the board- In perusing the reports of the board meetings one is reluctantly forced to conclude that the Cersonal antagonism of some of the memera to each other precludes the possibility of proper consideration being given to the numerous problems which arise from time to time. It is unfortunate that this spirit has arisen, and it is to be hoped that the better judgment of the various members will prevail and that we shall see the progress of the port receiving the whole attention of the board with out the introduction of any side issues Now, on the assumption that the new dredge will be under way very soon and that ultimately in the not too d’stant future there will be a channel of sufficient depth and width to allow of vessels drawing 30it or 42ft to berth at Dunedin with sufficient depth of water alongside the wharf, and that there will be a margin of clear water to admit of refrigerating plants being operated without fear of mud or dirty water being drawn in the intake, there remains much to be done. Hie modern facilities provided at the head of the harbour are at the present moment virtually nil, being (with the exception of the erection of several new sheds and the purchase of one crane) the same as they were 40 J ears ago. I his state of affairs received very adverse criticism in the London Times Trade Supplment of June 28, 1924. and again in the issue of December 27 of the same year, but so far the board has not bestirred itself in the matter. It is quite apparent that shipowners look upon our port unfavourably, and the port suffers in. consequence thereof. We have to contend with the natural difficulty of working the channel only at certain stages of the tide. That at the present time is an insurmountable difficulty which has not to be contended with at the other New Zea land main ports. This we cannot avoid, but, from the shipowners’ point of view, it causes serious loss and delay to their steamers and militates against the port. Therefore, it is necessarv that every effort be made to provide all facilities to enable prompt despatch and to endeavour to counterbalance the delays occurring bv reasons that cannot be remedied by the board.

It is essential that proper rail access to the wharves be immediately provided. At the present time we have' the Birch street wharf, which must be a regular nightmare to the various shipping companies which have the misfortune to have to land cargo into railway wagons in Dun-

edin. The writer is informed that about three years ago a joint deputation of shipping agents, stevedores, and watersiders waited on the board and pointed out the great handicaps suffered by ail parties concerned—and they were many. The m that occur to vessels berthed at the Birch street wharf must cost the shiping companies many thousands of pounds per annum, and such a state of affairs would not be tolerated in any other main port. It is essential that this wharf be remodelled and widened to enable three sets of rails to be .aid on it with numerous cross-overs to permit “empties” to be fed in and full wagons to be pulled out without necessitating the cessation of work at all vessels at the berth such ns occurs at the present time.

A visit to Port Chalmers, when a large overseas liner is berthed at the south side of George street pier and loading, say, five hatches, would amply demonstrate the necessity of at least three lines of rails and also plenty of crossovers. At the present time the rails in the vicinity of the E shed are useless as there i. no crossover and a dead end prevents the withdrawal of full wagons and the feed ing in of “empties” without stopping work at all hatches of everv ship at the Birch street wharf. It is also absolutely necessary that shunting capstans be installed to enable operations to be carried on continously without waiting for an engine, lhese necessary adjuncts have becn° installed at Lytteton and Timaru, and have been highly successful. If it is impossible to carry out the suggestion to widen the wharf, then a line of rails should be run down Birch street and joined up with the wharf between the G and F sheds, thus enabling a vessel berthed at the E and F sheds to receive all necessary wagons without impeding any vessel berthed at the coal dump or at the G, H, I, or J sheds. Any objection to running the rails down the street would be greatly outweighed by the advantages derived, and it should not be impossible to convince the City Council that free rail access to the wharves is essential to the welfare of the port. Whilst the wharf was being remodelled, provision could be made tor a permanent erection to carry the on which coal to be landed on the" dump is trucked across the wharf, this to be at such a height to permit of an engine passing under it, thus avoiding the necessity of unshipping such trams for every shunt which has to be done under tie pres mt antiquated conditions. When a rail and shed berth are combined the difficulty arises in trucking cargo across the rails at those sections of the wharf where the crossovers are installed, and at the present time the wharf in the vicinity of the J shed is absolutely unfit to hand truck cargo over. It is admittedly difficult to lav decking sufficiently close to points tc give an even surface fit for trucking over, and, from observations made, the only satisfactory system which has been evolved is one that will land the cargo on to hand trucks on the shed side of the rails, and thus avoid the necessity of trucking over them. This can be done bv the purchase of cranes sufficient in number to work the

"•rllt. but tl’e cost would be very great, if not prohibitive, and it would appear that the plan adopted in American ports would

o-ijto efficient and much more economical than cranes. This system necessitates the erection of cargo masts at the ends of shed with girders running parallel with shed from mast to mast and blocks affixed to girder at the required points. (These blocks can be shifted to any required position.) Portable electric winches are employed and a wire from such wincn is used in conjunction with the ships midship derrick, the shore winch taking the place of the out board or yard arm gear usually employed at this port. This method permits of the cargo being landeo clear of the rails, and is in use in man-, ports of the world. Three, if not four, winches and the necessary cargo masts for two sheds could probably be purchased for less than the cost of one crane. This method can be utilised also for doubling up gangs in any big hatch, thus expediting the despatch of steamers —a matter which is of vital importance. So far the present lack of any method of working double gangs is a very serious handicap to this poit. If double gangs are required under this method, both ship’s derricks are used as midship gear and two portable winches sufficiently far apart tc separate the gangs are utilised ashore. In some ports where wharves are narrow the ships’ winch fall is passed through

the shore block and the same end is achieved without the aid of he shore winch. This could probably be done at the present Birch street wharf. The need of some improvement on these lines becomes more necessary than ever now that the Milburn Lime and Cement Company and a well-known firm of implement manufacturers are removing their works to Green Island, for they will naturally demand shipment of their commodities ex railway wagon, Dunedin. In connection with the subject of rail connection, comments on the rails laid on the Victoria wharf are desirable. At the present moment two lines of rails are laid from the V to T shed, a distance of about 550 ft, with a dead end at T shed. No provision has been macle for crossovers, and if the board is tinder the impression that these rails, as they are at present laid, will enable an overseas vessel to load produce ex rail at that berth then it is time it was disillusioned. Without three, if not four, crossovers, the rails are utterly useless, and it is rather astonishing that no steps have been taken by the stevedoring firms of the shipping companies to draw the board's attention to their uselessness. It is to be hoped that the board will arrange for its engineer to report on the rail facilities at this wharf, and that ultimately a system will be installed which will provide for a marshalling yard in close proximity, and. if possible, three sets of rails on the wharf with all necessary crossovers, with provision for loading cargo from or discharging into sheds.