SHIPPING DEAL

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16622, 13 April 1928, Page 5

SHIPPING DEAL

IMPORTANT MOVEMENT N.Z.-PACIFIC COAST TRADE The entry into the New Zealand trade of a wealthy American shipping company is foreshadowed by the fact that the Matson Navigation Co. has purchased from the United States Shipping Board the steamers operated by the American-Orient Line (states the Dominion). These ships, whose names begin with the prefix “ West,” are well known in Dominion ports, to which they have been trading for several years. The .ships will be taken over by the Matson Line this month, and will be renamed. Their names wdl all have the prefix *' Golden.”

Until recently the Matson Navigation Co. operated almost solely between San Francisco and Honolulu with a fleet of fast, passenger liners, including several turbine ships of 10,000 tons. Their most, recent addition to the fleet is the Malolo, an oil-burning turbine steamer of 21.000 tons register, and 20 knots speed, said to be the finest and most elaborately-fitted passenger at earner in the Pacific.

Last year the Matson Co. entered into the Southern Pacific trade by buying out the Spreckels Line (Oceanic Steamship Co.), of San I< rancisco, iiosc st63ni6i s Sierra, Sonoma and Ventura run in the American mail and passenger service between San Francisco, Honolulu, Pago Pago (American Samoa), and Sydney. These steamers now run under the Mai son flag and management. It, lias been rumored that the Matson Navigation Co. intends to replace them by larger and move up-to-date s teamens. With regard to the “ West ” cargo steamers, it is understood that their personnel and running schedules will not be changed when they come under Matson Line management. They usually load motor spirit, general cargo and timber at San Francisco and Los Angelos or San Pedro, for Auckland, Wellington, Lyttelton and Dunedin, and occasionally “out ” ports of the Dominion. Those in the Australian trade load at vSan Francisco, New Orleans, or New York for the main ports, returning via Manila and Hongkong. [A cable message from Washington, published in the Herald yesterday, stated : The Shipping Board has approved of an agreement between the Matson Navigation Co., the Oanadian-Australian Royal Mail Line, and the Union Steam Ship Co. of New Zealand, which creates a conference to promote passenger traffic between Pacific roast ports of the United States and Australia and New Zealand, and to interchange traffic between member lines.]