making money

Shipping

Forum Line’s making money

By Jope Balawanilotu

The sensational days of Pacific Forum Line are gone lost ast ern in the wake of three successive years of profit. Those were the days when the shipping company’s knockers would have filled the deck of its first charter ship, the Ai Sokula. And they were the days when it seemed that bad news was good news to the media, says

regional manager Ormond Eyre. Tags

like “financially-troubled” were synony mous with Pacific Forum Line and they were used with monotonous regularity.

They also turned into cliches. Before the financial year ending December 1985, there was every reason to believe the Apia-based Pacific Forum Line was sunk

and beyond salvaging.

But 1985 recorded its first profit of SWS3.6 million. A year later, it jumped to SWS6.6 million then SWS4.2 million in 1987 the year when the South Paci fic Forum islands nations experienced their first military coup with Sitiveni Rabuka taking over the Fiji government on May 14.

On the 17th of this month, in the Fiji capital Suva. Pacific Forum Line’s gener al manager, John MacLennan, will announce to his Board that 1988 was not

only a year of performance for Fiji, but also for the shipping company. MacLen nan will not say just yet exactly how much, but it’s “a profit, in line with the

three previous years”.

The 1988 profit will further reduce losses accumulated over eight years since the Pacific Forum Line was established in 1977 (started operating in 1978) up until 1884. The profits of 1985 through to 1987 had reduced the losses to only $7 million.

The knockers are silent including the fly-by-nighters who were around for a quick buck, says Eyre. The sensational stories against Pacific Forum Line no longer appear in publications. Neither do the good news, which only appear on the shipping company’s brochures. The passage for Pacific Forum Line has been stormy and credit where it is due has not been forthcoming. Yet, it is one out

standing example of regional co

operation that has succeeded.

Historically, Pacific Forum Line was never to be. Originally, the South Pacific Forum agreed upon a regional airline, Air Pacific. But member countries, after agreeing to the concept, went their own ways and formed their own national air carriers. Fiji was left alone with Air Paci fic. And because of the unsuccessful re gional airline idea, Fiji cold-shouldered Pacific Forum Line when it was mooted, even though it had equity ‘A’ shares of

Sws 10,000.

The bad days changed when Fiji Prime Minister Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara

threw his weight behind Pacific Forum

Line. New working capital was organised

and approved. It has taken fewer back ward steps since the revamping drives of

the early eighties.

The relocation of its headquarters from Apia in Western Samoa (which is east of the Dateline) to Auckland in New Zealand (which is west of the Dateline) meant a full five-day week; it also meant that better communications saw more efficiency and savings in the relocation of its Wellington office to Auckland and the closure of its Sydney office. Apia was turned into a stevedoring centre and naturally grew into a shipping agency, not only for Pacific Forum Line, but also holds major contracts for other shipping companies and agencies. The relocation also meant not having to deal with the hardening US dollar. Favourable money fluctuations both in New Zealand and Australia meant more substantial savings.

Pacific Forum Line got its first pat on the back in September 1981 when it was requested to manage the Kiribati and Tuvalu feeder service jointly financed by the Australian and New Zealand govern ments as aid to the peoples of those two countries.

The pat on the back was spine tingling to the loyal group of workers in the shipping company, most of whom had started their careers there and had ex perienced little else but kicks in the teeth. They were driven to greater heights of performance and innovation as they steered Pacific Forum Line into

major acquisitions which saw the ship

ping company acquiring and establishing

its own shipping agent, major shares in chartered vessels and bought its own containers with more funds from the New Zealand government, soft loan from the European International Bank and assistance from the European Eco nomic Community through its Lome Conventions with the African Caribbean and Pacific communities.

In the face of adversity, due to indust rial problems in New Zealand, Pacific Forum Line bought Forum New Zealand II from The Shipping Corporation of New Zealand.

Operational efficiency determinations

saw studies in container holdings, fuel

consumption and ship speed. Adjust

ments were made and unnecessary costs saved.

Re-routing services went onto the

drawing boards.

Pacific Forum Line now services the region like no other shipping company has ever done.

It is steeming full speed ahead towards

achieving its objectives to:

• ensure regular shipping services; • offer a modern shipping service to encourage the economic development of the South Pacific region;

Forum Line: servicing the region like no other.

• contain freight rates; and • operate a viable shipping service.

With four ships Forum Micronesia, Forum Samoa, Fua Kavenga and Forum New Zealand II Pacific Forum Line is

getting closer to achieving those objec

tives.

The purchase of its own office premis es in Suva, the acquisition of Union Maritime’s agency services both in Suva and Lautoka in Fiji, the growth of its Fiji staff from three to 27 and the acquisi tion of Akarana Freights in New Zealand indicate that momentum has not peaked.

The demise of the Daiwa Lines saw Pacific Forum Line moving in to fill the gap, also servicing New Caledonia and the Melanesian Spearhead Group na tions.

Pacific Forum Line now links Mic ronesia, Polynesia, Melanesia, New Zea land and Australia.

Marshall Islands President Amata Kabua is talking about more trade with and amongst the Pacific Forum islands

nations, continuing a swelling growth

potential.

Pacific Forum Line is having its share

of shipping Fiji’s booming garments ex

ports and booming timber and pine

chips exports.

Jacques Sellam, a Frenchman of Tahiti

who has garments factories in Chicago, Chile and France, is talking joint venture with a Fiji concern for the European and American markets. It will give added volume as Pacific Forum Line eyes Asia, Europe and the Pacific-West-Coast of the American continent where it already has

trans-shipment arrangements.

And there is more good news. The Pacific Way works. Those South Pacific countries which had sat back during the bad days are welcome to join and buy shares. General manager MacLennan confirms that talks are going on with the Marshall Islands to join.

Pacific Forum Line is indeed a pleasant irony. It is taking off from a regional airline idea which failed to reach the sky. □