German Line

Re-enters Australia —N. Guinea —Hongkong Service

Norddeutscher Lloyd, Of Bremen,

have announced their decision to re enter the passenger and freight shipping service between Australian ports, New Guinea and Hongkong—a service which was conducted by the same organisation before the Great War.

Mr B. B. Wiltshire, shipping agent of Sydney, who has been appointed general agent in Sydney, said on his return from the East by the Nieuw Zeeland early in September, that the line would run under the name of Norddeutscher Lloyd Aus tralia-China Service. A regular monthly service would be provided between Mel bourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Salamaua, Rabaul, Sandakan (British Nth. Borneo), Manila and Hongkong. The first vessel will leave Melbourne probably on Novem- Two modern motor vessels of about 7000 tons gross, equipped to carry a large num ber of first-class passengers, have been purchased for the service. They are the Merkur and Neptun. In the new service the vessels will proceed to the East by the route mentioned and return by the same route, excepting that they will tour right through the Philippine Islands from north to south.

Mr Wiltshire explained that during the last eight years a service had been run be tween Hongkong and the Solomon Islands by two vessels—the Bremerhaven and the Friderun —carrying mostly copra and stores. The company also had a mam ser vice between Europe and the Bar East.

It had been decided to connect up the two services by running a regular passenger service between Australia and Hongkong, connecting Rabaul.