Mid-1947 Before Pacific

Travel Eases

INTENDING passengers to the United States from the South Pacific are faced with a long wait, whether they wish to go by sea or air. The passenger position now is actually worse than it was during the war.

The Matson ships “Mariposa” and

“Monterey” have been running a “bride ship” service for some months, but they are finishing their last Government as signments at present and then will be withdrawn while both go into dry-dock in San Francisco.

Both ships will be rebuilt “from the waterline” and will not be completed be fore March, 1947, when they will re-enter the trans-Pacific passenger trade.

“Aorangi,” passenger liner of the Union Steamship Company, is also in dock—this time in Sydney, and is not expected to be available for her first sailing until May 1947.

Both the Matson and USS Companies are maintaining cargo services across the Pacific, but these carry few passengers and sailings are irregular. The ships which are chartered from the War Ship ping Administration by the Matson Com pany could carry large numbers of pas sengers, but only under very primitive conditions. Where this has been attempt ed of recent months, the company has received many complaints from dis gruntled passengers, although they were warned of “troopship conditions” before they embarked.