NEW STEAMER SERVICE

Southland Times, Issue 19539, 1 May 1925, Page 5

NEW STEAMER SERVICE

LONDON TO SOUTH ISLAND IMPORTANT DEPARTURE REGULAR MONTHLY SAILINGS. (Special to the Times.) DUNEDIN, April 30. A new cargo service from London to South Island ports direct will be inaugurated next month, when steamers of the Commonwealth and Dominion Line, the New Zealand Shipping Company’s Line, and the Shaw, SaviU and Albion Company’s Line, will make calls at Dunedin, Lyttelton, Timaru and Bluff. EXTENSION OF THE SERVICE. Up to the present time, steamers of these Lines have made Auckland and Wellington the first port of call, and southern importers had frequently complained of the delay occasioned in the delivery of their goods, as two or three weeks usually elapsed after arrival at Auckland before consignments reached them. The new service, therefore, will be welcomed by the business community. It will be remembered that towards the end of 1924, the Importers and Shippers’ Association, in conjunction with the Chambers of Commerce of Christchurch, Timaru, Dunedin and Invercargill, took up the question of an improved service from British porta to the South Island of New Zealand. A conference on the subject was held, and later a deputation waited on the Overseas Shipping Committee in Wellington in order to secure some improvement. That the efforts then made have borne fruit is to be found in the notification now received that regular services are to be initiated at three-weekly or monthly intervals, making South Island ports the first ports of arrival in the Dominion.

START OF THE SERVICE. The service will be initiated by the Commonwealth and Dominion Line whose boats, however, do not go farther south than Dunedin. The New Zealand Shipping Company intimates that the Kent will leave London on July 15, calling first at Lyttelton, then at Dunedin, and thereafter the various overseas companies have arranged for a continuous service.

That this new departure will greatly benefit importers and merchants of the South Island cannot be doubted, and they fully appreciate the promptness with which the companies propose to give effect to the promises made to the deputation in Wellington in November lact. NEW ZEALAND COMPANY’S VESSELS. The New Zealand Shipping Company announce that under the terms of the new service the following time-table has been tentatively arranged for the next twelve months.

Kent (9857 tons), to sail July 15, for Lyttelton and Dunedin. Tongariro (new steamer of about 8000 tons), to sail August 26, for Lyttelton and Dunedin.

Te Koa (8526) tons), to sail September 6, for Dunedin, Lyttelton and Bluff. A steamer to sail November 18, for Auckland, Timaru and Dunedin. A steamer to sail January 20, 1926, for Dunedin and Lyttelton. A steamer to sail March 24, 1926, for Lyttelton, Timaru and Dunedin. A steamer to sail May 26, 1926, for Dunedin, Lyttelton and Bluff. The steamers of the New Zealand Shipping Company’s fleet to be engaged in the new service are all modern oil-burning vessels, capable of making the outward voyage in 38 days, via Panama. The Kent, Tongariro and Te Koa are noted for consistent fast passages. PROJECTED SAILINGS. The Shaw, Savill and Albion Company announce th? following projected sailings from Lpndon:— A steamer to sail August 15, for Dunedin, Lyttelton and Timaru.

A steamer to sail on October 7, for Auck land and Dunedin.

A steamer to sail December 9, for Dunedin, Lyttelton and Bluff. A steamer to sail December 30, for Lyttelton and Dunedin.

A steamer to sail February 10, 1926, for Lyttelton and Dunedin. A steamer to sail April 14, 1926, for Dunedin and Lyttelton. A steamer to sail June 16, 1926, for Auckland and Dunedin.