forum services

PNG boost for forum services

The Papua New Guinea Ship

ping Corporation’s contri

bution to the Pacific Forum Line, Forum Niugini , will enter service this month. The vessel, a modern German-built unit, will be capable of carrying more than 100 containers, 50 of which will eventually be refrigerated. This vessel, of 5100 tonnes deadweight, has a speed of 14 knots and will pro vide a 35-day liner service be tween New Zealand and PNG, with Noumea and Honiara as ports of call en route.

PNG Shipping Corporation

has been appointed PFL managing agents in PNG.

Forum Niugini will be the first major PNG flag vessel to trade overseas, though PNG

Shipping Corporation’s charter

vessel Coral Chief has operated within the Chief Container Service to Australia for a year.

In May, the PNG Shipping Corporation’s coastal liner af

filiate, Mainport Cargoes,

commissioned its new flagship,

Moresby Chief

The 2900 tonne deadweight vessel, built in 1973, is capable

of carrying 52 six metre boxes and 40 nine cubic metre boxes.

Facilities are provided for 14 reefer boxes. Two 20-tonne, one 12-tonne and a five-tonne derrick are capable of handling containers and general cargo.

The vessel will normally trade on the line’s weekly liner and container service from Port

Moresby, through Lae, to

Madang and Wewak. How ever, after its first coastal voy age, the vessel went to New Zealand for the Pacific Forum Line, pending the arrival of Forum Niugini.

With the arrival of Moresby

Chief ‘ Mainport’s smaller con

tainer vessel Provincial Chief has started a Lae-to-outer islands 12-day container ser vice.

In addition to commercial service, Moresby Chief is out fitted as the PNG Shipping Corporation’s officer cadet training vessel. The ship is crewed by 13 officer cadets who will receive basic training before completing their train ing on overseas vessels.

In Papeete, the formation of the Compagnie Tahitienne

Moresby Chief ... PNG Shipping Corporation’s new flagship

Maritime, Tahiti’s first international shipping line, is expected to boost trade between Trench Polynesia and New Zealand. The company’s first vessel is the Capitaine La Perouse, from Sofrana Unilines, which has been renamed Bounty. Sofrana will be the company’s agents in New Zealand.

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The New Zealand Shipping Corporation which hitherto had provided the only service between NZ and Tahiti, has two vessels on the run, the Tiare Moana and the Fetu Moana which also call at the Moana which also call at the Cook Islands.

This service is run at a loss and has a government subsidy.

Tahitienne Maritime’s entry can only make life harder for

the NZ Shipping Corporation.

The new service was expected

to be in operation before mid-

July.

Another Pacific shipping development recently was the introduction of the 1700-tonne freighter Fijian to the New Zealand-Fiji trade. The Fijian's big attraction is that it can carry up to 10 passengers in twin and single berth cabins.

Sailing mainly between Lau ,oka and Suva m Fiji and Qnehunga in NZ the at times , wi a i so call at other Fiji and a , wha arei D ’

Round trip passenger charges are S NZ63O (share twin basis) and $770 (single cabin). Return sailing time will

be about eight days.

The Fijian, formerly the Shaw Savill Cotswold Prince , is owned by Reef Shipping Agen cies, Auckland.