SHIPPING FACILITIES AT THE PORT OF TIMARU.

Timaru Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 2815, 1 October 1883, Page 3

SHIPPING FACILITIES AT THE PORT OF TIMARU.

CO THB EDITOB OP THE TIM4BU nBKiLD. Sis, — At the list monthly meeting of iho Harbor Board, I notice that the Manager of ' .he Landiog Service brought under the notice ' )f the liourd (he advisability of procuring one >r two much larger lighters, carrying say 600 ' >r 600 bigi, to load from nlongsido the wharf, '. n addition to the small carrying capacity ones ■ iow used for launching from tho sheds, to ni> o expedite the work of resjela both iniidc tnd outaide the Breakwater. As no open 1 iiecusjion took place upon it, and it has ( ipparrntly been quietly ignored by the Boird, ' . think the subject, is of sufficient importance o ask you to giro me space to stale my ideas - m the subject. After an experience of six J -eara' working of the We»t Coast bar harbors '\ if thin Island m the service of the Panama Itearuship Company, nnd some four je»r« m rorking the Government Landing Service iere previous to tho currying out of the 3reakwater, and having been the second urgest loader of foreign Teasels this (oason I rom this port to Europe, — I, at any rate, J light to know something about shipping 'J natters. After an absence of nearly threa years from ( Htnaru, I muet acknowledge that I was 3 urprised at the great extension of the ] 3re*kwa'er, and the ohelter and facilities t afforded for working the Laoding Service , The captains of all the vets-la I have loader) " his season were strangers to th* port, and i rom the report they heard previous to :oming here, did not feel »t all happy at the , hought, but, before leaving they all expressed . heir surprise and pleasure- at finding they i 'an no more risk than at any other openr aiHead or outport, and were simply aatoniahoH it the quick despatch they received. But ;bere was ono thing they all exprets.'d still nore astonishment at. That was, "Why we Jid not uee larger lijjhters, and \a\d ihftn , from the wharf ? " An iron lighter oarrjing, ; uy, 500 to 600 bags, could be purchased for a '- such Icm sum than the oost of two of the jrosent small onea carrying not more than , 100 to 120 bags each, now hunched from the ; ihed. They could be loaded with the greatest : mse and safety m any kind of weather from ;he inside end of the wharf. Thrre men could jastly haul them from tho wharf to any Teasel ' ying under the lee of tho Breakwator by a j me, as at present used from the sheds. Everyone must hi\vo noti;nd that at low tides ,he work of launching from Iho sheds hag tn 3e delayed for gome time, at tho period of low tides, and anyone can sco hut a heavy silt is making up immediately n front of the ways, which will yot present more difficulties than at present appear. When this delay m launching oocurs, m oirly morning, it means thit the best part of the jny is lost before a sufficient quantity of leading is alongside to keep the ship and stevedores fully employed; whilst a lighter coull bit loaded with 500 or 500 bags, alongside tho wlmf overnight, ready tog'> «long«ide at daylight, and give a good stmt by the time tho smaller boats could reach from Ihe shed. Another.'raatter : the greatest exponjo incurred by the Bervice is m the wear and tear of tho present system of launching on wayp, nnd ii is only a matterof surprise they last as long as they do, considering the heavy bumping they get at every launch. It is well known that nearly all vessels coming here to loai h«vo ta coim m ballast. If they are tho right class of vessel*, they should be able, after anchoring m tho roadstead; to throw out (m thoy do at present) all hut some 60 or 80 tons, and many of them would safely stand up at the inside anchorage with much leis than this quintily. Under the present system of lighteruge, they have after taking m a sufficient amount of grain to stiffen them, to go out again to throw out the balance, thereby causing a great hut of time to tho ship as well as upsetting the work of the Service, and entailing an expense to themselves and the Harbor Board of a second process of mooring. Tbe present lighters are not only too small, but coat too much fir labor to land ballast on shore at a profit, but a lighter carrying sixty tons put alongtide the vessel could receive the balance of her ballast (m most cues m one trip), and either be towed by the tug or •ail to the outer anchorage and discharge it, and io save not only tbe vessel's time, but do away with what tbe insurance companies, justly oonsider tho greatest ri*k of all, — that is, e°i D 8 ou t m partial loading to discharge a small quantity of ballast. Take it as a matter nf expense, it would take six of the present lighters to bring on shore sixty tons ; this, at 4s por ton, earning £12. They would require each two men to load and four to discharge and each lighter would take holf a day to load and di-charge, whilst a lighter carrying sixty tons out to tho roadstead would not require more than three men, and would nut take more than the day to fill and return. Another thing. It is stated that ve-s?ls oannot with safety be loaded inside tho Breakwater to a greater depth than sixteen feet. Now, njosfc of the Tesaels coming here to load for the United Kingdom draw a little over that before completing their loading, especially when it it a dead weight grain cirgo. We hare heard reports of vessels bumping just previous to taking en board the last three or four hundred sacks, and no doubt they often (land & risk of doing so, tnd as shifting a vessel outside to omplete a small quantity may vitiate her insurance, say nothing of the objections that captains hare to finish the last few tons outiidr, haviDg to run the risk of coming such a distance on shore to complete their final business and get off their stores at the last moment, this could be obviated by having a lighter ready of sufficient aize with the balanoe of her cargo, and be towed out with the ship, and so complete her loading with ono expense. I am certain that the expense of towing the present small lighters m and out to the outer anchorage as lately has been done must be more than double the amount

piid trr siiipporß. If (wo or throe lighters o tho eiz- irentioned vrero procured, they woul< also bo available m the elftrk Btta;on us dreilgrs Plnce the Priestman tiro 'ger on one and let ii fill tlie otlio-, and tho tug low them out Ie jo* to disclmrgp, nnd by this menu a great deal of ground coil d bo dreriged nt any di». tfttica from the wharf, or at any mooring placo the Harbor Master may think dc sir.ible. Hoping tha importanoo of the (übject nil! ba sufficient excuso for asking co much cl your raluaMe tpacc, I am, &0., WICXIAM ACELAND.