THE LOAD LINE

Hokitika Guardian, 20 August 1930, Page 2

THE LOAD LINE

NEW ZEALAND’S POSITION. EFFECT ON FREIGHTS. LONDON, July 10. The completion of the Load Line Conference on Saturday evening was for New Zealand primary producers as valuable a work as any that has hitherto been done.

By this year’s Load Line Conference a very great advantage has been gained, for with the exception of a portion of the South West of the Soutii Island the whole of the Dominion is now within the .summer zone throughout the whole year, whereas, prior to 1924 thesummer zone line was drawn from a point across Victoria to Whangaroa Point, this excluding practically , the whole of New Zealand 'from the summer zone. When it is realised that the boundary of the. summer zone was drawn at the previous conference in 1821 through Cook Strait excluding the whole of the South Island, the advantage which has been obtained at this year’s conference for shippers of New Zefliahd .produce is obvious. They Will be able to carry more produce throughout whole year than they have hitherto. We understand that so serious was the effect of the South Island exclusion from the summer pone in reducing shipments of coal that the shipping companies would have had to raise their freights, since the margin of profit is already so low, that hut for this advantage which has just been obtained it would have disappeared. /Ibis would have liacl a crippling effect on business which is mnv being carried on under conditions which are admittedly difficult if not serious.

SIR THOMAS WIL FORD’S WORK. The High Commissioner for New Zealand was a member of a number of committees of the conference, but Iris membership of the Zone Committee,: in view of New, Zealand’s border line position, was the most important work he had to do, for it is not an easy matter .to determine the right point to which ships of different size , and strength and build should be allowed under different conditions, to load. For if they loaded ships, too deeply there, was the risk of damage and danger, whereas, on the other hand, if they compelled ships to load too lightly they shut out cargo which could safely be carried and thereby add to the cost of every, commodity carried by sea. There were representatives of thirtyfour countries at the conference, comprising about eighty delegates ana a. number of experts equipped with data giving the meteorological and other relevant conditions of each country. One important condition determining whether or not a given coast should ;be admitted into the summer zone is the strength of the prevailing winds. NEW ZEALAND’S CONCESSION;

iThe experts who have set up standards in the various conditions which should govern the position of the load line laid it down that places wnere the prevailing gale frequency was above ten should be excluded from the summer zone, and a concession obtained for New Zealand this year is a relaxation of the strict enforcement of the definition. The new summer zone line for New Zealand has been settled to start on the West Coast at the point where longitude 170 degrees cuts it, that is, below the coal shipping ports. From that point round to Points Whakaputa and Otara is all that is now within the winter zone. The High Commissioner was unable to save Inver' cargill. Since, however, the determining of the load line depends on a ship’s last port of departure from a country, this does not in practice affect export trade since a boat loading at the E'iuff can proceed to a more northerly port to take its final departure from the Dominion. Sir Thomas Wilford had as his New Zealand colleague in the . conference Sir Charles Holdsworth. The latter however, has no power to vote and was present as an observer and as representing shipping interests involved.