Ships

New plans for

PNG shipping

The financially-troubled Papua New Guinea Shipping Corpor ation is entering an arrange ment with Bougainville Copper Limited to provide an export service for PNG products to the USA west coast. The corpor ation will use BCL-chartered vessels to provide the shipping space needed for USA ship ments, mainly made up of coffee, cocoa and specialised timber.

The arrangement follows what the corporation describes as its ‘disastrous venture’ into operating a service to the USA.

The service was operated last year and early this year by the freighter Niugini Chief , but each voyage was operated at a loss and contributed to the liquidity problems which the

line now faces. The corporation reported in September that the charter of Niugini Chief had concluded, and a careful study was being made of overseas and coastal operations to increase efficiency, establish a profit situation and provide essential import and export services. The new arrangement for handling exports to USA under agree ment with Bougainville Copper was expected to contribute to these aims. The first voyage under the new arrangements has already been made by the freighter Zep Hunter.

The PNG Shipping Corpor

ation is a locally-based organis ation established with govern ment backing to involve PNG equity in overseas shipping and in coastal services. The oper ation is considered to be financially sound in the long term, but at June this year the corporation and its subsidiaries had an accumulated loss of about $5OO 000 and the corpor ation was forced to come to arrangements with its creditors because of liquidity problems.

The directors held a series of conferences in September to review operations, and during

October they plan to put before creditors a plan which they believe will allow the corpor ation to trade out of its difficulties. Legal negotiations indicate that the plan is likely to be accepted, and the corpor ation believes it can return to an earning situation by the end of this year.

Tug and salvage operations carried out by the corporation may be closed down as a result of the current review, or the corporation may enter into a joint arrangement with another operator.

Meanwhile the PNG Trans port Minister, Mr Okuk, has expressed confidence in the ability of the corporation to retrieve its financial situation.

Tuvalu concern

over shipping

Tuvalu is becoming increas ingly concerned at a lack of shipping services for passengers and cargoes and is threatening to withdraw from the Pacific Forum Line if the line is unable to provide a service. Tuvalu is one of the member countries of the line and has made financial

contributions under a formula agreed to by the member countries.

The Forum Line earlier pro vided a charter service to Tuvalu, but the size of the ships now operated by the line makes it uneconomic to call there because of the comparatively small value of trade. Tuvalu’s High Commissioner in Fiji, Mr Kamuta Latasi, said recently that he had been instructed to formally indicate that his country would leave the line if a shipping service could not be provided.

Mr Latasi said he appreci ated the economics of the oper ation in relation to Tuvalu, but there was no point in providing financial support for the line if no service was being received.

He said that Tuvalu required the services of a ship of about 300 tonnes with general and refrigerated cargo facilities and with passenger accommodation.

A spokesman for the Forum Line said that the line had initially met its commitments to Tuvalu by chartering the ship Ai Sokula to provide an econ omic link between Tuvalu and the region. The service had ceased when the ship grounded on a reef. Attempts to provide a new service were now being made under a general review of the line’s operations. The pro posed service would link Tuvalu with Western Samoa and the Tokelau Islands, and possibly with Kiribati.

Australian aid

for containers

Australia is to provide $1.5 million to buy containers for the

Pacific Forum Shipping Line.

The Australian Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Anthony, an nounced this at a private meet ing with leaders of Island countries while the leaders were in Vanuatu for this year’s con ference of Forum countries.

The issue of Australian aid in relation to Forum shipping is a sensitive one because of Austra lia’s earlier attitudes expressed at a meeting of regional heads of Commonwealth countries.

Australia said then that any aid for Forum shipping would need to be at the expense of general development aid.

The Australian decision to finance containers for the line has liberalised this attitude.

Sea tests for

patrol boat

A new type of patrol boat developed in USA and Austra lia is expected to have appli cation to Pacific Island situ ations as Island governments intensify their controls over the 200-mile marine resource limits. The new type of boat, the

prototype named Project 150 , was commissioned by a consor tium of businessmen in Western Australia and designed by C.

Raymond Hunt Associates of Boston in USA.

It is built in Perth, Western

Australia, using a moulded fibreglass hull and the proto type is at present undergoing trials and giving demon strations.

The 25-metre patrol boat carries a crew of six. It cruises at 19 knots with a sprint speed of 30. It is described as an offshore surveillance craft with design flexibility for a number of applications.

Project 150 undergoing trials off the Western Australian coast.

The hull is of foam-sandwich fibreglass, with aluminium deck and superstructure.