AFTER AUSTRALIAN TRADE.

Taranaki Daily News, 28 March 1917, Page 8

AFTER AUSTRALIAN TRADE.

•NEW AMERICAN FLEET, NORWAY MAKES 1 A BID. The shipbuilding yards in neutral countries, particularly America, are being rushed with orders for ships that will eventually be employed in the trade between Australia, X<j\v Zealand and America. Since the war started there have been many strangers in port (says the Sydney Sun), but in most cases they hav been merely ships that had been chartered as a speculation, and after one trip some tried another avenue of business. One company, however, which controls the Luchenbach Line, saw what the prospects of the enterprise were, and hefore the first of its ships returned to America, another was on its way to these shores. Within two months of the first boat's arrival the company /announced that there would be a definite time-table for the Australian-bound vessels, and that time-table has since been established. Three big cargo-carrier:) were then put on the service, and they have ali ready earned much money for their .owners.

It was not long before it became apparent that those steamers could i)ot . cope with the requirements of the trade, and-as the Australasian service was the most profitable of all, something had to be done in the way of increasing the fleet. Chartering at the ruling figures ..wag out of the question, r.nd the company decided immediately to place orders for a new fleet, which is to comprise at least 11 vessels, with tonnage ranging from S'3oo to 15,(100. These are i to be used exclusively in the Australian .' trade. The first of the vessels will be 1 known as the Julia Luchenbach, and i -then the order is to be: K. I. Luckenb.iclt, M. K. Lucjcenbach and. Walter A. Names have not yet been announced for the other seven. The four vessels named are to be in the water by February of next year, and the rest of them are to be ready by the end of 1018. i Obviously, those ships of the Luckenbaeh Line which are to be of 15,000 tons will offer keen competition to the ships of the British mercantile marine, when the war is over. In .Norway there are also many eyes turned towards Australia. Shipowners there are anxious to get an opening into our trade, which, like that with AmeI riea, is as good as Anything ofi'ered by other countries. Advices from Norway by recent mails were to the effect that a new line of steamers owned by Norwegians were about to enter into comj petition with ships already coming to I Australia. Six vessels are almost ready ' for commission, and eac-h of them will i make two trips a year between Norway 1 and Australian ports.