Pacific Shipping

Fiji Loses A Shipping

Service And Gains Two

News that Pacific Australia Direct Line, which operates a monthly cargo run from Australian ports to North America, is to drop Fiji from ports of call, coincides with announcements from Karlander and Messageries Maritimes that they will launch new services from Australia to Suva and Lautoka.

Pacific Australia Direct is with drawing its six ships from the Pacific trade altogether and replacing them with three new ships, costing some $33 million, of the roll-on, roll-off cargo variety.

A spokesman for PAD said it was sad that after six years the company would no longer service Fiji: But Suva and Lautoka’s “antiquated” wharves (built in the early 60’s) were not equipped for roll-on, roll-off cargo; the wharves were not big enough for the company’s new ships —20,000 tons and larger—and the Fiji Government had offered no berth ing priority for PAD ships. Vessels waiting to unload cost the company about $9,000 a day.

Last call in February

The company’s ships (9,000 to 11,000 tons) are Arizona, Cumulus, Parrakoola, Stratus, Sirrus and Goonawarra. The three new ships are being built in Sweden. Only one, the 20,300 ton Par alia, has been named.

Last PAD ship to call in at Suva will be the Parrakoola on February 1. PAD will now run only from east coast Australian ports to Honolulu and on to North America.

For Fiji, the problem might be serious if it weren’t for the number of shipping companies moving in, as PAD moves out. PAD had been carrying about 3,000 tons of cargo a crossing, almost 50 per cent, of the Australia/Fiji trade.

Hoping for a substantial slice of this 50 per cent, (in competition with established companies to Fiji) will be Karlander, which in February will launch a new trans-Pacific service faking in Suva and Lautoka with

palletised and unitised cargo, and Messageries Maritimes, which launches a new service at the same time, to the same ports, with the Erwin Schroeder.

The Karlander service will be main tained by three new ships, Woolgar, Slevik and Wyvern, leaving Mel bourne every 25 days for Sydney, Suva, Lautoka, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Auckland and back.

Each ship has a capacity of 7,000 tons of cargo and is equipped with hydraulically operated sideport doors; there’s no accommodation for passen gers and agents are Burns Philp (SS) Ltd. and F. H. Stephens of Mel bourne.

Messageries Maritimes’ Erwin Schroeder will load at Adelaide, Mel bourne, Sydney and occasionally Port Kembla, Brisbane and Newcastle for Noumea, Suva, Lautoka, Vila and Santo.

China Navigation’s contribution to

the Fiji run is the Taiyuan, which operates under the new Suva-based Fiji-Australia Line Ltd. (F/M, Dec., p. 97). On a proving cargo/passenger service from Brisbane to Noumea, Lautoka, Suva and back, the Taiyuan has been carrying 80 per cent, capacity passengers and 90 per cent, capacity cargo.

The passenger side of the service is making the company very happy.

The 86 passengers pay a bit more for their 18-day cruise, stopping five days in ports, but they enjoy a more intimate atmosphere than the larger cruise ships.

Future plans

Fiji has drawn up plans for wharf and jetty development in the next five years, but has so far said nothing about adapting the Suva and Lautoka wharves to handle container cargo.

Suva, however, will get a new 800 ft wharf for inter-island shipping. It will

She looks like she's finished, but the owner of "Mapu", on the beach at Rotuma, intends her to rise again. See the story in "Cruising Yachts", p. 92.

be located north of the existing King’s Wharf and Walu Bay berths.

Also planned are new cargo sheds at Suva and Lautoka, a $F60,000 jetty for Rotuma, and $250,000 for jetties in the outer islands.

The growing importance of Savu savu as a tourist centre no doubt in fluenced a decision to reclaim land there for future extension of the wharf. Plans envisage Savusavu’s one day becoming a $2,500,000 inter national port.