Pacific Gap”

Orient Line Will “Fill the Pacific Gap”

Sailings Announced for Year Ahead

FURTHER trans-Pacific sailings have been announced by the Orient Line, to make a total of six by March, 1955.

The company’s liners will leave Sydney on May 21, September 17, November 19, December 17, January 28 and March 25. They will call at Auckland, Suva, Honolulu, Van couver and San Francisco. Several of the company’s ships will be em ployed on the service.

There is no likelihood that a more regular service will be intro duced, the company’s policy being to divert liners to the Pacific when ever they can be spared from the London-Australia run.

All ships carry First, Intermediate First and Tourist B passengers. An Orient executive said there should be ample berths available for travel between Sydney and Suva.

The liner to leave Sydney on January 28, 1955, will be the new Orsova of 29,000 tons, which was recently in Sydney on her maiden voyage.

At an official luncheon on board

the liner, a director of the Orient Line, Sir Colin Anderson, said it was extraordinary that the Ameri cans had no ship of the Orsova class on the Pacific service. He described the Pacific as the “empty Pacific” because of the lack of regular liners between Australia and North America. The Orient Line intended to fill the gap, he said.

The company made its first Pacific run with the 28,000 tons Oronsay from Sydney on January 1 this year, and it carried a record of 1,200 passengers. The Pacific had been without a regular passenger liner since the old USS Aorangi was withdrawn last year and sent to the ship-breakers. Soon after their successful experimental voyage, the Orient Company an nounced further voyages.

Even with no competition and a very healthy subsidy from the Gov ernments of Australia, Canada and New Zealand, the Aorangi lost a great deal of money for her owners after she resumed the trans-Pacific service in 1948. This was caused partly by increased crew quarters at the expense of passenger-carry ing space, and partly by the crew being on Australian articles. The crews of Orient vessels work under UK articles. (Details of the Orient Line trans pacific services will be found in our Shipping: Time-tables.)

The response by the various native Co-operative Societies of the Milne Bay (Papua) District to the Queen Elizabeth the Second Coronation Fund for Mothers and Children has been described as “gratifying.” The sum contributed was £llO.