Progress on Nauru and

Ocean Island Cantilever Near Completion

ACCORDING to Sir Albert Ellis, New Zealand’s full requirements of phos phate should be met this year from Nauru and Ocean Island.

In the “New Zealand Herald” in mid April he said that the giant cantilever at Nauru, which was destroyed by the German raider in 1940, and suffered again at the hands of the Japanese, would soon be completed and that it would then be able to load a 10,000-tons ship in one day.

Since the island was reoccupied and the phosphate workings reopened, about two years ago, all loading of ships has had to be done by lighters—a slow process, with Nauru’s lack of harbour facilities.

The usual delays of the post-war period have held up the work of reconstructing the cantilever but the first arm will be in operation soon. This will be used to fill phosphatic rock into one hold of a load ing ship. The ship will then be moved at her moorings to bring another hold directly beneath the cantilever. When the two arms of the cantilever are com plete however, both holds will be loaded simultaneously.

Sir Albert will visit both Nauru and Ocean Island in July. He reports that operations on Ocean Island are also pro gressing satisfactorily.

“Levuka” Becomes “Triadic”

The 7,000 ton, former Carpenter ship “Levuka,” will be handed over to the BPC shortly and will serve in the Australa sian-phosphate island trade as the “Tri adic.” The original “Triadic” was one of the three BPC ships sunk off Nauru in 1940. The “Trienza” was the only one

of the four ships of the line to escape on that occasion. A new “TTiona” was built in Glasgow in 1943, but so far there is mo new “Triaster.”