Trade Winds

□ Nz Line Re-Flags Ships

NEW ZEALAND Line last month hi jacked its own ships in order to get rid of its own crews in a re-flagging op eration designed to make the Line attractive to buyers.

The crew of the huge container ves sel New Zealand Pacific was told to divert to Moorea where they were met by British officers and Spanish seamen who immediately took control of the ship after the crew refused to sign an employment agreements that would have maintained their wages but cut leave allowances. The ship was re named Tui and the Hong Kong flag was hoisted as it set off for Auckland where it was immobilised by union picket lines. The New Zealand Forum II met a similar fate in Port Moresby and was renamed Weka.

Both ships are now owned by sub

sidiary companies in Hong Kong

established by the government-owned

NZ Line. Directors say the reflagging which may serve the Line sNzll.6 million this year was the only way they could preserve buyer interest in the line. But the Australian National

Line (ANL), which had tendered to bu y NZ Line with existing manning practices, is now fighting to reverse td e rejection of its bid by the NZ Treasury. The bid reportedly was re jected after ANL refused to provide unconditional indemnity to pay NZ Lmes back-tax liabilities which could total more than SNZ2S million, n • ■ DAIJI , DDnciT

Tuvalu Bank Profit

THE NATIONAL Bank of Tuvalu has announced a pre-tax profit to De cember 31, 1987 of $500,107 down $16,205 on the record profit of 1986.

It was taken as a gooa result in the face of falling Australian dollar in terest rates.

The National Bank, 60 per cent owned by the Government and 40 per

cent by Westpac Banking Corporation,

relies for much of its funding on in vesting its surplus funds and sees the profit as a healthy per annum return of 42.3 per cent on average sharehol ders’ funds.

Steady expansion marked 1987,

with growth in savings account de posits of $528,000 and increased adv

ances of $433,000. Demand for fi nance was strong, home loans pre dominating with 43 per cent of all new loans Being for house building or renovation throughout Tuvalu.

Overseas investments were up $440,000 on the previous year.

□ Hawaii Bank Worth $6 Billion

BANKCORP Hawaii Inc, the parent company of Bank of Hawaii and the Hawaiian Trust Company Ltd, has re ported record earnings for the third quarter of 1988. Its total assets in creased 14.6 per cent in the twelve month period to SUS6.I4 billion, mak ing it the first financial institution in Hawaii to exceed $6 billion in assets.

The bank’s loans grew 20 per cent in the year to SUS3.7O billion, while deposits increased 13.6 per cent to a total of SUSS.6 billion.

□ Blue Lagoon Posts Profit

FIJI’S Blue Lagoon Cruises Ltd has

reported a trading profit of $F851,394

for the financial year ending in May 1988 despite last year’s dramatic tour ism slump. But chairman David Wil son told directors the biggest drop had been in passengers from the Us and Canada nad been caused by the lack of airline capacity from North America.

“The past financial year was certain ly the most difficult and commercially uncertain period any company in Fiji

is likely to experience, particularly for

those dependent on tourism,” said Mr Wilson. The sale of the MV Taleanda to an Australian company and its re placement by the $2.5 million MV Nanuya Princess had boosted pre-tax profit and accounted for a significant part of Blue Lagoon’s operations. The company operates six vessels from Lautoka providing a number of cruise options each week.

□ A3Lo For Air Niugini

AIR NIUGINI has taken delivery of its first Airbus A3lO-300 aircraft. The new jet carries 30 first class and 179 economy class passengers and is due to begin flights in March on routes from Port Moresby to Manila, Singa pore, Brisbane and Sydney. It replaces an A3OO B 4 aircraft leased from Au stralian Airlines.

“Our leased A3OO played a crucial role in establishing us as a profitable airline in a competitive market during the past few years,” says Mr Seefeld.

“We look forward to serving our pas sengers even better with the new Airous.” □

□ Hawaiian Airlines On Move

HAWAIIAN Airlines is planning major expansion with the sale of stock to a Japan Air Lines subsidiary, Pan Padr - ] f, . , cl u m w i 1k Hotels. Shareho ders have agreed . . i r on 8 to a stock increase of 20 per cent, „i• . • ’ making a huge capital injection. * 8 . . .P .tc K /- j * Approval by the US Government is txpec e o e or coming.

In 1987 the airline was to be so d to u j i r i market crash intervened and the deal collapsed: before the crash Hawaiian Airlines shares had been trading at ,, cat V , , Hawaiian sees two immediate benelits m the ink with J AL, apart from the new capita availability - the possib.litv of extending its routes to

secondary Japanese destinations such

as Okinawa, and the Japanese carrier s influence with Boeing ,f Hawaiian wants early delivery of new aircraft.

Meanwhile Hawaiian takes delivery January of another DCS from Scandmavian Airlines Systems (SAS). This may be used to increase frequency on Rights m the South Pacific. The DCS used on the long-haul runs between Honoltilu, Auckland and Sydney now also services the Auckland/Rarotonga route. Since Ansett ceased operating the Caook Island International Airways service on that run, the two destina-

tions have been linked by a Hawaiian

Jet (flying under air Rarotonga’s

name) mating a round trip to the Cook Islands every Wednesday.

Hawaiian Airlines uses LIOOI Tris tars for its US West Coast-Honolulu services, and Hies refurbished DCS jets to the South Pacific in a configuration of 16 first class and 194 economy seats. Apart from Sydney and Auck land, Hawaiian has landing rights at

Rarotonga, Apia, Pago Pago, Papeete

and Nutu’alofa.

However, aircraft shortages have meant that earlier plans to nave two llights a week out of Sydney have had to be shelved; by the end of October seats on the Friday flights to and from Sydney had been almost completely booked through to the end of January 1989, says Hawaiian’s Australian sales director, Gillian Harman.

Airline workers were surprised with their success in that after only nine

months up against highly competitive

airlines flying wide-bodiea jets,

Hawaiian’s old DCS has done very well. Hawaiian has built a successful business in small-lot air freight: it flies fresh food, cigarettes and other cargo into Pago Pago and Apia from Austra lia and New Zealand, and according to Ms Harman this traffic will be prom oted further in 1989.

Robin Bromby

□ Waste Conference

THE 1989 Pacific Basin Conference for Hazardous Waste Research will convene in Singapore from April 2-7.

The meeting follows the inaugural

conference field in February 1988, which identified common problems in managament of hazardous waste in the Pacific Basin. Organisers say the second meeting will review progress in waste disposal research and continue development of collaborative prog rams between member nations.

Training courses, technical papers, workshops and research planning ses sions are scheduled for the conference which is open to anyone involved in hazardous waste research and man agement. The training courses will be conducted by David Barnes of Sinclair Knight Partners, Australia, and Louis Theodore of Manhattan College in the United States.

Accommodation and social functions

are being arranged by the organisers,

the Pacific Basin Consortium for Hazardous Waste Research. Financial assistance is available to people wishing to attend from developing na tions.

□ Cooks Halt Fishing

THE Cook Islands Prime Minister Geoffrey Henry has asked the Japanese Government to cease all

fishing activity in Cook Islands waters, including trans-shipping, until a for mal fishing agreement has been negotiated. The Director of Fisheries Management, Colin Brown, says the move follows an estimated US$lOO,OOO loss last year from opera tions carried out in the Cook Islands by Japanese tuna boats.

Meanwhile Taiwan has sought per mission to establish a trans-shipping base in Rarotonga. But Department of Marine Resources officials have ex

pressed concern over possible

approaches to the private sector from the Taiwanese regarding storage and other facilities required for a trans shipping base. Taiwanese fishing boats have been observed using gill nets, a

practice strongly opposed by the Cook

Islands Government.

□ Fiji Tourism Up

FIJI could earn up to SF2OO million in foreign exchange from tourism this year, according to the outgoing chair man of the Fiji Visitors Bureau David Williams. Mr Williams says projections show at least 260,000 people will visit Fiji this year, a further increase on last yeaijs record 211,000. But Mr Wil liams said achieving the projected visi tor total and revenue will depend on

active participation and co-operation

by airlines and Fiji’s tourist industry

operators.

□ Anz Buys Bank

THE ANZ Bank has been given the go-ahead to buy the New Zealand Government-owned Post Office Bank.

ANZ announced its intention to buy Postbank last December for almost SNZSOO million. The NZ Commerce Commission has approved the sale and ownership will change hands late this month.

□ Qantas Changes

THE Australian international airline QANTAS has announced changes to its Trans-Pacific schedules whicn will see flights pass through Tahiti rather

than Fiji. Six QANTAS flights from

Australia to North America which formerly made transit stops in Fiji have been re-routed through Tahiti.

But QANTAS international relations manager David Callaghan says the changes will not adversely affect tour ism m Fiji. Mr Callaghan says the route changes were made to attract more American tourists to the West ern Pacific and traffic through Fiji’s Nadi Airport will not be affected. But resort operators in Fiji are concerned the new schedules will cut the number of Americans travelling to Fiji.

□ More Charges In Vanuatu

AS SACKED Vanuatu president Ati George Sokomanu and rebel MP Barak Sope await trial following last year’s failed coup, two of their sup porters have been sentenced to prison terms lor sabotage. McKenzie Kaloititi, son of the private secretarv to the for mer president, and Karie Kora, Sope’s bodvguard, have each been sentenced to 15 months jail for damaging and setting fire to rural radio stations on the island of Efate.

The two men failed to appear for sentencing and had to be brought to

the courtnouse by police. They were

released pending an appeal. Mr

Kaloititi also faces a further seven

months prison over damages to a

Burns Philp supermarket in Port Vila

last December.

Sokomanu and Sope are both in jail, ilong with four other men, awaiting trial on charges of sedition and incit ing mutiny. Sope staged a brief hun ger strike during January, but is eat-

again and reportedly in good

□ Panguna Unrest Continues

UNREST continues at the giant

Bougainville Copper Mine at Panguna

n Papua New Guinea’s North Solo

mons Province, prompting authorities

o impose a dusk-to-dawn curfew at he mmesite and in surrounding towns md villages. The curfew is enforced )y a force of 400 heavily-armed police.

The militant followers of Francis

Ona have been blamed for the unrest which began in December with a num ber of explosions which twice forced the mine to cease operations (see January Pacific Islands Monthly). Mr Ona’s followers are all local landown ers dissatisfied with the conservative leadership of their elders and intent on strongly pursuing increased com pensation from mine operators BCL for the use of their land and the dam

age caused by mining activity.

The landowners have waged a con tinuing campaign of harassment and sabotage in support of their com pensation demands. PNG Justice Minister Bernard Narakobi has ruled out the possibility of an amnesty for Ona in exchange for an end to the campaign. But the Minister did leave open tne option that Cabinet could direct police not to proceed with a prosecution if charges are laid.

□ Earhart Out Of Fuel

BRITISH air historian Rov Nesbit claims to have discovered evidence which suggests famed US aviator Amelia Earnart ran out of fuel and crashed about 50 kilometres short of Howland Island in the western Pacific on her round-the-world flight 50 vears ago.

Nesbit, a former RAF navigator, says he discovered a letter from Earhart to the British aviation author ities in which she wrote of her inten tion to carry 1000 US gallons of fuel on board her Lockheed Electra air craft for her 4100 km flight from Lae in Papua New Guinea to Howland Is lands. The Sydnev Daily Telegraph reported her navigator Fred Noonan as saying they would carry 950 gal lons.

According to fuel consumption fi gures supfdied by Lockheed, Nesbit says the twin-engined plane could have flown for 20 hours and 13 mi nutes on 950 gallons of fuel. Earharfs last radio message was received 20 hours and 20 minutes after takeoff, making it likely that she ran out of fuel soon afterward. She never arrived at Howland and no trace of her or the aircraft has ever been found.

□ Air Nz New Service

AIR NEW ZEALAND will begin direct flights between Sydney and Los Angeles on March 27 under new air rights granted after bilateral talks last year. Air NZ currently runs eight flights a week from Sydney to LA via Auckland. The new service will oper ate twice weekly via Honolulu using Boeing 747-200 aircraft. With the in troduction later this year of the 747- 400, Air NZ will operate non-stop Sydney-LA flights.

The changes are part of a shift of emphasis to the more lucrative busi ness market. □