Gangway Number 15 Spring 1978 Journal of Blue Star Line, Lamport & Holt Line, Booth Line, and Associated Companies Contents Correspondents 1 1977 in retrospect News, views, and photographs for North America 2 Australia Star Christening publication should be sent directto any R B Tilley 4 News from the Gulf of the correspondents below, to reach Blue Star Line Ltd 4 Mrs E G George sponsors them by: Suite 2260 'Starman Anglia' 1 January for Spring issue Three Embercadero Center 5 Crusader Service Seminars 1 April for Summer issue San Francisco, CA 94111 7 My years with Blue Star 1 July for Autumn issue 8 BSSM News 1 October for Winter issue. Republic of South Africa 9 Blue Star Line News G G H Jefferys 10 Lamport & Holt Line News Whilst every effort will be made to Blue Star Line (South Africa) Pty Ltd 10 Liner Shipping Agencies News include all contributions submitted, PO Box 4446 11 Booth Line News lack of space may make it necessary to Thibault Square 12 Profiles hold over the publication of some Lower St Georqe's Street 14 Around the World in articles until a later issue. Cape Town twenty-three days 17 The Oxford Diving Expedition Australia United Kingdom to Cabo Frio R Walker D Green 18 Amver Awards Blue Star Line (Aust) Pty Ltd Lamport & Holt Line Ltd 19 The Ghillie-Ghillie man is back Box R21 20 Around the World by box-boat Booth Steamship Company Ltd Royal Exchange Post Office Albion House 21 A year in the hot seat Sydney 22 Twenty to Thirty Coats of Paint James Street NSW 2000 Liverpool L2 7PS 23 News from Australia 24 Kiwi column G E Gunner Argentine 24 Springbok column Blue Star Ship Management Ltd P F McGuinness Albion House Agencia Maritima Mundial, SA James Street Avenida Cordoba 653 Liverpool L27PS Buenos Aires M H R Foster Brazil Liner Shipping Agencies Ltd Cover: Southland Star loading at Benair Freight Ltd, Translode Ltd Terminus Island, Los Angeles. R J Burnett Agencias Mundiais SA 34 Leadenhall Street February, 1978 Caixa Postal 190 London EC3A 1AR Belem RA Russell F C Tate Blue Star Line Ltd Companhia Expresso Mercanti! 34 Leadenhall Street Avenida Rio Brance 25, 10 Andar London EC3A 1AR Caixa Postal 969-ZC-00 Rio de Janeiro Middle East W H Askew Blue Star Line Ltd PO Box 290 Dubai UAE New Zealand W Smith Blueport A.C.T. (NZ) Ltd Written permission must be obtained PO Box 192 from the Editor before any of the IBM Centre articles or photographs in Gangway Designed by the Design Studio 157 The Terrace are used or reproduced in any way and printed in England by whatsoever. John Gardner (Printers) Ltd. Wellington 1 1977 IN RETROSPECT by J G Payne Our business is international and what- responsible for the ship's husbandry. sea staff accept the new challenges of ever happens on the national or Both our container consortia, that is shorejobs and make a successof them. international scene is more than likely ACT(A) and Johnson ScanStar, had a to affect our business, somewhere and reasonable trading year. somehow. For this reason the Chair- Our trades with South America man, Senior Managers, and myself produced about the usual mix of keep in touch with the national and problems and frustration, but taken asa A personal note international affairs of our industry and whole the results were about average, On a more personal note I found 1977 try to playa constructive role whenever except for the Amazon where we a year which gave a lot of satisfaction we can. decided to stop trading with the within the Group, despite the frustra- 1977 was a year which will be United States, since there was little tions of the never ending problems for remembered in the Industry for the hope of our ever getting sufficient the industry on the international scene, inevitable wage discussions affecting cargo as a cross trader to make a some of which have already been both sea staff and shore staff, by the reasonable living. Liner Shipping mentioned and few of which appear expected surplus capacity of the inter- Agencies in the UK and Eirehad a busy to have a ready solution in sight. The nationalshipbuildingindustrybecoming year representing Group interests, Group problems-which are few a reality, by the increased capacity of Johnson ScanStar, Atlanticargo, and indeed-always seem to have a the Russian Merchant Marine which many other outside agencies. LSA's solution in sight which can be planned has become increasingly evident on 14 offices now employ some 300 for and action taken as appropriate. most trade routes, and by the inter- people. More of my time is now spent pretation and administration of the travelling-which has its advantages United States' shipping laws becoming and disadvantages. A glance in my so confused that one is never certain Staff changes diary tells me that in 1977 I visited whether one is operating inside or out- There will always be staff changes of Kuwait, Abadan, Bandar Shahpour, side the law. course, but 1977 tended to produce an Bandar Abbas, Dubai, Bahrain, Our own government, in the mean- acceleration in staff turnover at most Dammam, Jeddah, San Francisco, time, has excelled itself by getting in levels because of government pay Guayaquil, Quito, Miami, Grimstad, such a muddle over 'employee parti- restraints.We dislike government inter- Bremen, Oslo, Stockholm, Paris, Ham- cipation' that the subject has been ference in our business at any time, burg, Bremen, Rotterdam, Venice, relegated to the 'too difficult' file even more so when it disturbs the loyal New York, Copenhagen, Geneva, meantime a decision which seems to relationships which we, as a family Montreux, Pretoria, Cape Town, Rio have received fairly widespread company, try to establish with all our de Janeiro, Manaus, Abu Dhabi, approval. staff. Singapore, Sydney, Melbourne, Christ- I do not intend to mention all church, Wellington, and Los Angeles. The trading year changes for yet a second time, but it is I visited some of these places twice or difficult to beli~ve that it is only just more, plus one or two other places, At the Company level all the plans over a year since Ken Churchouse not mentioned above, for an hour or so! which the Chairman outlined in his retired in New Zealand; furthermore, In between I have been a regular foreword to the summer edition of David Habgood seems to have been visitor to Liverpool and other places in Gangway are either a reality now, or General Manager of Blue Star Ship the UK. In all the placesvisited we have will be in 1978-which is ,how things Management in Liverpool for a long, offices, partners, and/or customers. should be! Some of these plans are long time-yet his appointment is only In conclusion may I repeat what reflected in ship deliveries. Starman just over a year old. Mr Edmund Vestey said in 1977: 'Our Africa joined the Starman fleet mid- Henry Gray joined us from West reason for being in business is to year, and we were pleased in the week Coast Stevedoring in Liverpool to- satisfy our customers. We will only before Christmas to christen Starman wards the end of the year and is a succeed if we give them the service Anglia and see Timaru Star after her welcome member of our management they want, in the way they want it, as conversion to full refrigeration at 'A' team. John Nickels left Booth Line economically as we can: I must add Berth, Victoria Dock. to live in Switzerland and 'Geoffrey to this that we will only succeed in We further expanded our reeferfleet Bishop returned to Liverpool after a this objective if we are efficient and by chartering some smaller vessels, sojourn in Singapore. Archie Gilbert profitable. which helped to make our overall fleet decided to take early retirement on the During 1977 our customers once more flexible and, hopefully, more Pacific coast and we wish him well. again proved their negotiating ability economic. 1977 was a good high These changes, coupled with new in controlling rates of freight. To season in the reefer market, but the challenges, have given further oppor- maintain our customer service and last six months of this year were slow tunities to a number of our own staff make profits we must, wherever we and therefore disappointing, a fact and we were very happy to have Mike can, make our total operation even that will not have escaped the notice Morse join usfrom ACT(A) to open our more efficient in 1978. Thank you all of sea staff. ACT 7 joined the ACT(A) office in Dubai. It has also been for your contributions towards these fleet, with Blue Star Ship Management rewarding to see one or two of the objectives in 1977. 1 new building capacity. In this very gravely distorted scene the Common Market Commission in Brussels is pressing the EEC ship- builders to cut their capacity by one ~ustraliaStar' third-and it is this same Commission which sanctions both the British Intervention Fund as a whole and each individual deal within it. We will, of Christening course, be doing everything we can through the Government to persuade · the EECto adopt a different policy, but what we are up against is typical of the 81ueSt ar IlJaugurates ~;;~;~~~~:~~can spell life or death for service The nameof the game is survival and w~ ~an't I?ok to the British taxpayer or new container British shipowners to do much more Australia Star, the first of a new class 'The name of the game than they have done already-both of container ship, was named on 25 - _, have their own problems.