TONNAGE INCREASE

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 103, 28 October 1933, Page 26

TONNAGE INCREASE

DOMINION SHIPPING

SMALLER VESSELS GO

(By "Martingale.")

There are fewer . vessels registered in New Zealand today than there havo been before during this century. Tho decline represents a movement which has been taking place more noticeably during the last six years, but which has been apparent since 1913. At the beginning of 1933 there wore 519 sailing, steam, and motor-vessels registered in the Dominion, which is one fewer than were registered in 1900. The present tonnage, however, is the highest that has been recorded since before tho Great War, and is a fair indication of tho policy now being adopted throughout, the world of building larger vessels j to replace obsolete tonnage. i Part of the decline may be accounted for by the fact that a number of ves-1 sels which have been built for uso in New. Zealand havo not been registered in this country. Their number would undoubtedly swell tho total; however, this has been going on over many yeara. and the annual figures of Dominion shipping may be taken as a fairly reliable indication of the position in this country. The year .1913.may bo reckoned the pivot year in our maritime history. In that year wo had over a quarter of a million tons gross of ships registered and thai quarter of a million has not been reached since. EOAD AND BAIL. One. of the greatest setbacks with which shipowners in the Dominion

have had to cope is tho competition of rail and road. Much of our tonnage is engaged in the coastal and river trade, and during tho last few years it has suffered much from these competitors. This influence has extended to a degree that in all major ports shipping is-laid up, :either temporarily or indefinitely' (which practically means permanently); Conditions are such that many of the coastal concerns' cannot find suffipicsnt trade to keep their vessels in continual employment. As a result some ships are kept in service only for a portion of the year, and during tlio remainder they are laid up and the crews paid off. Trade is in many cases being diverted ¥rom smaller ports to the jentrcs. A notable case of this is in connection with Wanganui, there being a very heavy diversion of trade to V-cllington and New Plymouth by road And rail.. WHAT THE YEARS The netresult of these influences has been that* slower vessels (and these are mostly under 100 tons'gross), havebeen permanently withdrawn from commission, and ;Soltl or broken up. The. following table gives the numbers of vessels registered in.New Zealand and their tonnage, at two-yearly intervals, since 1908:—

*Peak year. , ■ . The continual .fall as shown in the number of vessels registered each year is represented principally by a diminution in the number of sailing ships. Twenty years ago there wore 242 sailing ships of 36,558 tons gross registerby 1923 this had fallen to 138 vessels of 23,583 tons; and today the total stands at 58 vessels of 6163 tons. A further article dealing with the position of shipping in New Zealand will be given next week.;

No. of . , . vessels. ' 1908 ' ...... , 040 1910 ...... 006 1912 GIG *1913 ■ GIG ' 1914 ...... 581 1916 ...... 580 1918. ...... 557 1920 ...... 547 1922 ...... 556 1924 564 1926 ...... 558 1928' ...... 560 1930 ...... 531. 1932 ...... 519 Gross tonnage. 228,39.0 233,531 245,445 254,117 158,552 148,497 .141,751 139,945 150,589 190,144 , • 202,354 194,304 201,650 - 214,752.