SHIPPING AT LYTTELTON.

Globe, Volume XXIV, Issue 2504, 17 April 1882, Page 3

SHIPPING AT LYTTELTON.

Caring the March quarter of the present year 431 vessels entered inwards at the above port. Their aggregate register tonnage amounted to 113,757 tons, and the nnmber of men employed on them 5627. This is an excess of 25,000 tons over that of the corresponding quarter in 1881. Two hundred and twelve were steamers, 211 sailing vessels from coastal ports, and forty-one sailing vessels from foreign ports. The clearances daring the same quarter were thirty-three vessels for foreign ports, with an aggregate register tonnage of 25.305 tons, besides the clearances of steamers and coasting sailing vessels, while in the corresponding quarter the foreign going tonnage cleared amounted to 19,991 tons. Both with respect to ships and f learners, the returns for several years past go to show that not alone is there a steady advance being made by the port in point of the nnmber of vessels which; trade to it, bnt every year brings a larger class of both steamers and sailing vessels. Thus during the March quarter of this year, as stated above, the thirty-three foreign arrivals would average all round 766 tons register each, taking the 25,305 tons as the aggregate, while in the March quarter of 1881 th'j average computed in the same way was a trifle over 600 tons for each vessel. Not long since vessels whose draught, loaded, reached 20ft were met with at the port as exceptions. At the present time it is an uncommon occurrence for a grain laden ship to leave the port on a less draught, and a not uncommon one for a ship to leave her loading berth on a draught of from a foot to eighteen inches over 20ft.