Enna G tiptoes out of NZ

From Kathleen Hancock In

Wellington.

There was a subdued bustle aboard Nauru’s Enna G in Wellington in Sep tember. With the arrival of Captain D. J. Ball, now acting marine super intendent for the Nauru Pacific Line, and five officers, work in getting the ship back into service got under way.

However, mouths were buttoned up tight as to the rights and wrongs of the Enna G dispute.

Captain Ball said he could not comment, but a crew member said, “We feel as if we’re walking on a crate of eggs”. No one wanted any more trouble in Wellington. All they wanted to do was to get the pride of the line back to sea and into action.

In Wellington, interest in the ship flared again as preparations for the Enna G’s departure for Melbourne progressed under the command of Captain Jim Brunton, with a crew of Nauruans and Solomon Islanders.

A NZ television feature, Joe Cote’s documentary on Nauru was well-timed and produced some in teresting comments from both Nauru ans and Kiwis working on the island.

Nauruans reckoned that the pros pect of competition with New Zea land shipping was at the bottom of the trouble, which was reported to have cost Nauru more than $200,000, including a payment of $51,566.18 to have her released from a writ of arrest for debt. The payment was made to William Cable Ltd. Th e Naurans on Cote’s documentary said that the NZ awards were based on NZ conditions and living standards and were not applicable in their area.

New Zealanders working in Nauru said that NZ had a big responsibility to the Island territories. The N Z image had been damaged, and Nauru considered its efforts to provide work for the future when the phosphate industry dries up had been sabo taged.

Ashore in Wellington it was hard to get two stories that tallied on the initial cause of the hold-up. But one crew member said, “PlM’s August editorial just about hit the nail on the head”. The secretary of the Wel lington Seamen’s Union, Mr Toby

Hill, thought otherwise. He said that the dispute only arose when the Fijian seamen approached the union, which referred the whole matter to the wide-ranging Maritime Union.

The Minister for Island Affairs, Mr Amos, put it a bit differently. He said it had simply been a matter be tween the Fiji unions and Nauru. in Wellington the view is that the Enna G is unlikely to go on to the Auckland-Pacific Islands run, which badly needs the service.

The Enna G left Wellington on September 20, 118 days after it had tied up, for Melbourne. It sailed from Melbourne on October 6 for Nauru under the command of Captain Ball.

Captain Brunton returned to the Eigamoiya as master after the arri val of the Enna G in Melbourne.

The Enna G issue was expected to be hotly debated at the regional ship ping conference at Waitangi, NZ, on October 27 and 28. Before that she was the subject of questions in Par liament. The Minister of Labour, Mr Watt, said the NZ Government did not pay to settle the dispute. He said only the parties concerned could re lease details of the settlement.

Present plans are for the Enna G to resume its Pacific Islands cruising from Sydney—taking in Noumea, Vila, Suva, Pago and Apia, among other ports.

Nauru Pacific Line’s Hydra has been transferred to the Australian- Fiji-Samoa service. She was previously on the Australian-Papua New Guinea run, but sufficient cargo was not available. The Eiga moya will now go on this service, but will omit Port Moresby. After calling at New Guinea ports the Eigamoya will carry on to Guam and Nauru.

The Hydra is on charter from Nor way. The last charter expired at the end of June, after which she was chartered for another seven months.

Airstrip For

Lord Howe—Maybe?

An airstrip, about 3,000 feet long will be built at Lord Howe Island between January and May, 1974, pro vided the Australian Prime Minis ter Mr E. G. Whitlam, approves a request by the NSW Premier, Si r Robert Askin, for the Australian Army to do the job. With the army laying the strip the cost will fall con siderably—to about $750,000 from the $2.6 million which was talked about for several years.

The strip will be built entirely on land, and will involve the relocation of only four homes.

The airstrip will be capable of handling smaller twin-engined air craft like the Cessna and the Nomad.

The Tourist Board hopes that Air lines of NSW will continue the flying boat service till the strip is ready to take aircraft.

Airlines of NSW ran two special flying-boat services from the island on October 7 to bring back to Sydney about 80 holidaymakers who had been stranded there because of the strike by Sydney Airport technicians.

Earlier the airline had made tentative arrangements to divert a liner to the island to pick up the passengers.

Beating

The Curfew

American Airlines, on October 28, changed the routing and time of some flights into Australia from the US mainland because of the start of day light saving in New South Wales and Victoria, and the need to comply with the 11 pm curfew at Sydney airport.

The Friday and Sunday flights will overfly Nadi to arrive and terminate at Sydney at 10.25 pm. One weekly flight into Melbourne will still stop at Nadi as there is no curfew in Melbourne and, consequently, no need to make up time. On Wed nesdays, a flight from Honolulu will stop at Nadi on the way south, and is scheduled to arrive at Sydney at 10.15 pm.

On Tuesday northbound flight out of Melbourne is now diverted through Sydney, and overflies Nadi on the way to Honolulu.

Dockworkers' Gains

At Port Moresby

Port Moresby Watersiders have made some major industrial gains, chief of which is a rise of 8c an hour.

Other gains are three weeks’ paid annual leave, 20 per cent dirt money and 10 minutes tea break.

An arbitration tribunal handed down the new award late in Septem ber after hearing claims by the Cen tral District Waterside Workers’

Union and representations from the Employers’ Federation of PNG on rates of pay and employment. The union had asked for a rise of 14c an hour for casual workers and 16c for winchmen and hatchmen, a daily minimum pay of four hours, and a 15 minute tea break for casual em ployees.

Casual workers will be paid for at least two hours’ work if the work finishes within two hours of starting.

The union also asked for a work ing week of 40 hours (44 at present) and for sick leave to 10 days. The tribunal rejected both claims.

The chairman, Mr R. Maro, said: “We believe that employees will be much happier and more settled if

they receive a regular, known wage.

This means we believe as many em ployees as possible be made per manent”.

The tribunal did not fully accept that workers needed three weeks annual leave to visit their families; they needed it for rest and recreation.

The working week could not be re duced from 44 hours because of the likely effects on the economy.

The award requires the employer to give absolute priority to the em ployment of registered casual work ers, provided they are at the pick-up centres at the required time, and that work is available. The award came into force on October 1 and will last for a year.

In Fiji, the Dockworkers' and Sea men’s Union, after being deregis tered because it had failed to keep its accounts as required under the Trade Unions Ordinance, formed another union, styling it the Fiji Waterside Workers’ and Seamen’s Union, with Taniela Veitata, sec retary of the old union, unanimously elected secretary. This new union takes in the Fiji Maritime Workers Union, which was formed after de registration of the Dockworkers’ and Seamen’s Union.

The treasurer of the new union, Manueli Raivasi, who was also treasurer in the deregistered union, said after the meeting the union wan ted to set up a regional shipping line.

It already had a ship in mind, cost ing $25,000.

Solomons' Fleet

Earned $380,000

The BSIP Government fleet steamed 582,581 km (362,000 miles) in 1972, with an average load of just over nine passengers and 2.54 tonnes (2J tons) of cargo on each ship each trip. The fleet earned more than $380,000.

Another new ship, the Wataro, a sister ship of the Wango, was commis sioned in May, replacing the Mary, which was withdrawn pending a de cision about her future. Two other ships, the Wakio and the Wagina, are being built and should be in service early in 1974. A new landing craft, to replace the Vonu, is on order in the UK.

The introduction of the Mark worth Shipping Co’s Regina M made a big impact on passenger services to the west of the group, and set a new standard of comfort for deck passenger travel.

The BSIP Marine Department sur veyed Onebia, Kira Kira, Waimasi, Suuomoli and Suulopo harbours.

Many beacons and lights damaged by Cyclones Carlotta and Ida have been, or are being, repaired.