Canadian Strikes Hold Up Shipping

Grey River Argus, 9 April 1948, Page 5

Canadian Strikes Hold Up Shipping

VANCOUVER, April 8. Two freighters of the CanadianAustralian Line’s service from the Pacific Coast to Australia and New Zealand are among the many oceangoing ships tied up in Canadian ports as a result of the strike of Canadian engineer and radio officers. The ships are the 7100-ton steamers Waitomo and Wairuna. The Waitomo has been held at Vancouver since her arrival on March 12' from Australia via Lautoka, and the Wairuna since she arrived at Vancouver from Australia, via island ports, last Tuesday. The strike began on March 1, based on demands for a wage increase of 835 a month and other changes. Within two days, 150 ships became idle at Canadian ports on both coasts. As a result of the delay, the departure for New Zealand of the Wairuna is now given only as April. She is to load at Vancouver, San Pedro, San Francisco. Papeete and Rarotonga for Auckland. Wellington and Australia. The Waitomo will load for Australia. The Canadian-Australasian Line, an associate of the Union Steam Ship Company, has four freighters, . all registered in Canada. The remaining ships are the Waihemo, which is at present at Auckland and which will sail on Friday night for Vancouver, and the Waikawa, which will leave Suva, on Sunday bound for Vancouver. The Union Company’s transpacific freighters, Wairata, which will leave Vancouver this month for Auckland, and the Waitemata, now bound from Suva to Vancouver, are not involved in th? strike as they are on New Zealand registry. The onlv other Canadian-manned shins listed to visit New Zealand .in the near future are tne M.A.N.Z. Line steamer Ottawa Valley, which will leave Eastern Canada on April 22 for Auckland, and the Nova Scotian newsprint steamer Vinland, _which will not leave Liverpool, Nova Scotia, until next month. The prolonged industrial strife in Queensland has held up one ship which has been in port for a month loading for Auckland. The vessel p the 2800-ton Swedish, motor ship Belos, which is now loading sugar for Chelsea, at the Queensland port of Mackay.