Gangway Number 7 Spring 1976 Journal of Blue Star Line, Lamport & Holt Line and Booth Line Contents Correspondents 1 Blue Star-the position today News, views, and photographs for publica­ Republic of South Africa 1 Mrs E H Vestey launches Almeda tion should be sent direct to any of the G G H Jefferys Star correspondents below, to reach them by: Blue Star Line (South Africa) Pty Lt< 2 The family company wins 1 January for Spring issue PO Box 4446 3 News Afloat 1 April for Summer issue Thibault Square 3 News Ashore 1 July for Autumn issue Lower St George's Street 4 Lamport & Holt Line News 1 October for Winter issue. Cape Town 5 Blue Star Ship Management Ltd Whilst every effort will be made to include 5 Postbag all contributions submitted, lack of space United Kingdom 6 'Srarman Express' may make it necessary to hold over the D Green 7 A million tons of UK trade for J S S publication of some articles until a later Lamport & Helt Line Ltd 7 Which Ship? issue. Booth Steamship Company Ltd 8 Papa Papa cleared to final Albion House 8 Securi-Bore James Street 10 Half a Century with BSL-part five Australia Liverpool L2 7PS 11 A Century with Lamport & Holt R Walker 12 Red Ensign versus Red Flag Blue Star Line (Aust) Pty Ltd G E Gunner 14 Escape from Singapore 37-49 Pitt Street Blue Star Ship Management Ltd 15 Stranded in the Bitter Lakes GPO Box 1575 Albion House 16 The artist at sea Sydney J ames Street 16 Answer to 'Which Ship?' NSW 2000 Liverpool L2 7PS 17 News from Australia RA Russell 18 Kiwi column Argentine Blue Star Line Ltd 20 Springbok column P McGuinness 34 Leadenhall Street 21 News from the Amazon Agencia Maritima Mundial, SA London EC3A 1AR 22 Fleet list Avenida Cordoba 653 24 Fleet personnel news Buenos Aires Brazil Cover: Starman end on to quay at Tees R J Burnett Dock, Middlesbrough, preparing to roll off Agencias Mundiais SA the largest piece of cargo ever to enter a Caixa Postal 190 UK port (see page 6). Belem Para F C Tate Companhia Expresso Mercantil Avenida Rio Brance 25, 10 Andar Caixa Postal 969-ZC-00 Rio de Janeiro New Zealand W Smith Blue Star Port Lines (Mgt) Ltd PO Box 192 IBM Centre 157 The Terrace Wellington 1 North America E A Gilbert Blue Star Line 650 California Street San Francisco, Cal 94108 USA ended 1975 in a just about break-even Crusader trade and South America. In the position, having made good profits in 1974 . Crusader trade we face stiff container As far as the fieet is concerned we are competition and we are studying the Blue Slar­ still managing, despite the gloomy prog­ future in depth to see what our next step nostications of a few years ago, to trade our should be. ships for most of their useful life and not As for South America, there is an Ihe position dispose of them prematurely. During 1975 announcement elsewhere in the magazine we have sold Adelaide Star, Tasmania about the cooperation between BSL and Slar, and Wellington Slar. We were also L&H. Wc have decided to amalgamate the offered a good price for M ontevideo Star management of L&H and BSL South loday and she has gone too. American trade, and based on Liverpool the changes should bring about useful W/e are now well into 1976 and it might be New reefer ships economies. worthwhile reflecting on our results for The most noteworthy event of 1975 has Further ahead, the new ACTA last year. Compared with 1974, our figures been the arrival of the new reefer ships, our containership will be delivered in 1977, and last year took a significant turn for the first new series of ships since before at the time of going to press we are worse. In 1974 nothing went wrong, and containerisation. Afric Star entered service considering a further heavy lift ship. with full ships throughout the year, high in February, A vila Star and Andalucia charter rates, and everyone clamouring for Star in June, and Avelona Star in Costs spiral space, it was easy to trade profitably. December. Apart from a few teething One tires of writing about the cost spiral Last year the inevitable happened. Most troubles, all have been trading well and but it is the most important issue of today. of us felt that the shipping market was carrying exactly the sort of cargoes for True there has been some improvement in probably destined to fall with a crash, and which they were designed-not alas at the the UK due to Government legislation, but it did. \Ve operate in a world market, of right sort of Freight Rates, but I have in other parts of the world the problem has COUIse, but it often seems as though the referred to that above. worsened for us, particularly due to the shipping market takes after the British Two ships have been in the news- New fall in the value of the pound-in itself a stop-go economy, and in 1975 it stopped. Zealand Star was in Luanda fo r many by-product of our own troubles. Australia, As the year moved on, cargoes fell away, months during conditions of war, and all sadly, is rapidly losing out with fruit being the beef mountai n grew, and European credit to those on board for their spirit and forced by their own costs out of world exports to Ollr traditional areas declined. enthusia sm during difficult times. markets, and it now costs us more to load The only buoyant area was the Persian Secondly, Scoltish Star, long since the meat conventionaUy in Queensland than Gulf, being the one spot where chartering property of insurance interests, came out was our total ocean freight rate just truee opportunities were to be had. of the Suez Canal looking from all accounts years ago; we cannot recover this sort of However, when one hears of the disasters in quite reasonable nick. increase from our customers. that have befallen other shipping What of 1976 and the future? As far as H owever, we are doing all we can to companies, nmably tankers and bulkers, profitability is concerned, we are still develop new business and to find ways and our performance was not too bad. We were bumping along the bottom, but one or two means of improving what we have. There nm forced into lay-up, our fruit ships were isolated signs of improvement are appear­ is no reason why our problems should not fully occupied, albeit wi thout profit, and ing, so wc are hopeful. The fleet will be be overcome and why we should not above all our container services are fully occupied until mid-year, and in continue to expand. gradually proving to be the best investment particular reefer cargoes are picking up BR Hazlitt we have ever made. So, with a struggle we somewhat. Our problem areas are the Mrs EH Vesley launches Almeda Slar Almeda Star, the fifth of Blue Star Line's new series of 'A' class refrigerated reefer ships, was launched at Smith's Dock, Middlesbrough, on 21 November. The sponsor was Mrs E H Vestey, wife of BSL chairman Mr Edmund Vestey. Four of the new ships, Afric Star, A vila Star, Andalucia Star, and Avelona Star are now in service. The first three of these specialist vessels have been operating since June under contracts for the carriage of bananas from Central America to Europe, North America, and the Persian Gulf. The contracts have been extended to cover voyages to the end of this year. Mrs E H Vestey fAlmeda Scar l hits lhe water 1 The COl wins The f ollowing is the text DJ a speech made by maximum utilisation of their assets. Ships be manager or clerk, director or crane Mr J G PaYlle in Grimsby Town H all on at sea make money, ships in port cost driver, chairman or offi ce boy, should ask 5 December 1975 at a dinller given by United money. ] n other words we all want our ourselves one simple question-are we Towing alld H umber Tugs: ships in and out of port in the shortest worth the money in our take home pay?­ At a time when I suspect we are all possible space of time. \'\lhat, therefore, are we giving a day's work for a day's pay? scratching to keep our head above water or apart from an efficient tug service, makes a 1fnot, what is stopping us-is it indifferent more definitively when we 3rc trying to port work-probably three or four things management, lack of leadership, an un­ retain in our businesses a positive cash flow only: disciplined work force or the mistaken it is probably worth once again having a - the right equipment, there is nothing belief that 'she'll be right', to coin an look at the basic elements which make a more soul destroying than the wrong Australian expression. One thing is certain, shipping company's profit and loss account equipment nothing will ever be right unless a lot of good, bad or indifferent. -the right amount of space in which to the nonsense which goes on at the present On 1 April 1974 I gave the Reginald operate moment is very firml y sat on in all places Grout Memorial lecture in the City of in our society. \'\le all have a responsibility London and the subject was 'British Liner -good management in this regard and all I simply suggest is Shipping: Future Prospects and Problems'.