NG Berthing

Priorities To Go

A system of berthing priorities

•r ships using Papua-New

minea ports, which has long

sen attacked by some shipping

ompanies as unfair, is to be dis urded.

"JHE P-NG Acting Administrator, - Dr. John Gunther, announced in :irt Moresby on December 13 that uder a new policy the Burns Philp ;ssel Bulolo will be given first •iority and all other ships will be on first come first served basis unless could be shown they were carrying nergency supplies, or a cargo that ould deteriorate or lose its market not unloaded promptly.

Dr. Gunther said the new policy, hich would take effect from March would be reviewed should it be town that significant damage or irm was being suffered or would ; suffered by the Territory as a re lit of it.

He added that the priority system id been introduced some years ago ensure a regular flow of essential jods to the Territory, At that time ere were serious delays to ships jcause of the lack of port facilities, it with the improvement of handling cilities the system could be modi ;d. The Bulolo, he said, was still e main passenger link between P- G and Australia.

Under the priority system, four ;ssels, the Bulolo and Malaita (Burns hilp) and the Shansi and Soochow 'Jew Guinea-Australia Line) have iceived berthing priority over all her vessels.

As a result, on some occasions :her ships have had to wait for irths, have moved into them and ien been required to move out again, icir work unfinished, because another •iority ship had arrived. (PIM, Dec., 43.) Leaders of the fight for equality ive been the Swedish Minister in ustralia and Wilhelm Wilhelmsen gency Pty. Ltd., acting on behalf I the Swedish-owned Australian test Pacific Line. This line operates le Aros, Delos, Milos, Samos and enos between Australia, P-NG ports id the Far East. The service has •own steadily over the years and icludes the BSIP.

These ships have carried the same ass of goods, including refrigerated irgo, as the priority vessels.

They have to go to surprising lengths to organise their visits to avoid clashes with “priority” time tables. Cargo has been stowed in holds in such a way that calls could be made first at any of the ports of Lae, Madang or Rabaul; masters have had to be kept informed of all ships’ movements so they could use their discretion in deciding whether to back-track to avoid clashes; vessels have been worked around the clock, including Sundays and holidays, so they could get out of the way of priority vessels.

Managing director of Wilhelm

Wilhelmsen in Australia, Mr. J. O.

Johnsen, has for seven years argued against the system and protested that it was causing frequent and expensive dislocation in shipping timetables, and in any case was ridiculous.

In Sydney in December Mr. John sen said he was “tickled pink” with the new decision.

“I had got to the stage where I was giving up hope,” he said. “I’m glad the battle is ended.”

Mr. Johnsen said the new arrange ments were reasonable, and all that his company had ever wanted was a reasonable approach to the problem.