The Bluff. September 2001 Vol. 21 No. 3 Published by South Port NZ Ltd

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1 The Bluff September 2001 Vol. 21 No. 3 Published by South Port NZ Ltd

2 SOUTH PORT S PEOPLE - Tom Smith, Watchman Tom Smith has filled many roles, both before and after coming south and joining the Southland Harbour Board in Originally from Auckland Tom was brought up in Mount Maunganui in the days when it was a sleepy seaside settlement rather than the export hub for much of the North Island s log and timber exports. It seems unlikely that children in living in The Mount these days go to school on horseback. That was how Tom gained his early education, however, with four or five siblings rushing to mount the family nag, for first on got the better end. After school there was swimming, surfing and seafood, plus adventures in the ever-present bush. This idyllic lifestyle ended with Tom s first job, long-lining from an open boat. The fishing industry soon lost Tom to the numerous major construction projects going on around the country, including a period working on the Tiwai Smelter. Various other jobs in and around Bluff followed before Tom joined the Southland Harbour Board in His initial title was Engineer Tom on watch ensuring a smooth traffic flow to and from the island Harbour. Serviceman for the port s floating plant but other cards played have included Suction Dredge Operator, Engineer, Cold Stores Operator, Meatloader Operator, Machinist and Tug Crew. When the new position of daytime watchman became available Tom decided to go for a Full House and applied for it. So, after working in virtually every aspect of port operations, it is in the watchhouse that Tom now spends his days. As the first contact most visitors have with South Port Tom s wide experience ensures they are directed where they wish to be, and that road freight flows smoothly to and from the port. ANOTHER RECORD YEAR FOR SOUTH PORT There was gold at the end of South Port s rainbow with another record year for cargo movements. Front Cover: ANZAC Day The Australian bulk carrier Alltrans passes the Bluff War Memorial. The Alltrans is one of Bluff s most frequent callers and has often featured in the Portsider. The Bluff Portsider is compiled by South Port N.Z. Ltd P.O. Box 1, Bluff. TFN (03) Fax (03) reception@southport.co.nz Website Mr M. O Connor, Chief Executive Edited by Capt. D. A. Edge Production by Craig Printing Co. Ltd For the second successive year South Port is celebrating a record tonnage throughput with million tonnes of cargo crossing Bluffs wharves. This record tonnage was export lead. In fact there was a slight drop in imports but exports surged ahead recording a 6.5% increase, reflecting the strong economic growth in the Southland province, especially in the rural sector. Fertiliser was the only import cargo to show a substantial rise with a little over 10% more coming in, reflecting improved rural confidence. This increase was more than offset by a reduction in raw materials being imported over Tiwai Wharf, although aluminium exports remained virtually unchanged. Criticism is often aimed at the exporting of largely unprocessed forest products such as logs, woodchips and sawn timber. Small reductions in exports of all three were experienced in the past year, reductions that were more than offset by a massive 85% increase in exports of medium density fibreboard. General cargo was another big mover with a 48% increase, as was stockfood. Increased exports translated to increased shipping services, notably across the Tasman where the service frequency has virtually doubled recently to a call every six days. 2

3 Card swipes and speakers on the centre island augment new access barrier. ACCESS ASSURED As related above, in the interest of safety access to the Island Harbour is now more restricted due to the continuous cargo operations carried out there. South Port, however, is very conscious of the enjoyment many people derive from visiting the waterfront and was determined not to prevent their on-going pleasure. The western end of the Town Wharf is no longer used for commercial shipping but, rather than demolishing or closing it off, South Port chose to extensively refurbish and resurface it for public recreation. New planking has been laid over much of the surface and, where necessary, tie-bolts and pilings renewed. Future fishing competitions and celebrations of that local epicurean delight, the Bluff Oyster, may be safely planned in the knowledge that access to the waterfront is assured. The gates are firmly closed against visitors when there s a tanker in port. ACCESS RESTRICTED Traditionally New Zealand ports have provided reasonably easy access to the public and, in days of yore when cargo work stopped at noon on Saturday for the weekend, a Sunday wander round the wharves was a popular family outing. Alas, no more. Cargo work these days continues round the clock and round the calendar and even Christmas Day is no exception. The waterfront has become a dangerous place for the unwary. To ensure public safety South Port has therefore introduced round the clock and round the calendar manning of the Island Harbour watch-house. New barrier arms have been installed to control access with a talkback unit allowing communication with the watchman. Regular users will be issued with swipe cards to minimise delays. But if you enjoy visiting the harbour don t despair, just read the next story. Crowds enjoy open access to the Town Wharf during a fishing festival. ACCESS DENIED Meanwhile down at the eastern end of the Town Wharf tankers such as the Bright Express are discharging their cargoes of petroleum, aviation spirit, fuel and diesel oils. Access here is strictly by invitation only. Known as number 11 berth the eastern end of the wharf has been developed especially as a tanker berth for handling petroleum cargoes. Such berths tend to be located in a port s most isolated areas but ever since oil replaced coal as industry s prime mover the Bluff tanker berth has been located adjacent to the town. Computers hadn t been invented when the little coaster Paua first called with bulk petroleum back in 1927, but the response to would-be visitors both then and now would be familiar to the computer user of today - access denied. 3

4 Bluff o PRESENT Tasman Orient Line and its forebears have operated services to the Orient since The introduction of a fixed day service to North Asia some twelve months ago was a major contributor to South Port s results for the year and a boost to the region s importers and exporters. Commemorating the occasion the Chairman of South Port s Board, John Harrington (L), presents Tasman Orient Line s Deputy Chief Executive, Richard Kendall, with a photograph of that company s multi-purpose liner Tasman Adventurer. As part of its commitment to Bluff South local Rugby Club. Here Chief Executive Ma President Ron Rouse with the annual sponso photo of the present Bluff Senior Team. As c the first photo South Port has acquired. In f photo of the Awarua Football Club side of 1 Ron was on familiar territory in the Board Supervisor in Despite appearances this presentation had nothing to do with beard-growing competitions or a razor wit. Rather Marine Manager Dave Yeowell is presenting Captain Traczewski, Master of the Sandnes, with a South Port plaque to commemorate a function held aboard the ship to acknowledge Jebsens commitment to the monthly service from Bluff to the West Coast of North America. As the function appears to be taking place on the vessel s navigating bridge it might be said that Captain Traczewski was bearded in his lair. S.I.T.O. Endorsements for harbour tug o South Port staff members. Displaying their flanked by relieving tugmasters Brent Christ 4

5 Focus n ATIONS Along with P&O Nedlloyd South Port co-sponsors the Alliance Group s corporate Touch Rugby Team, The Unforgiven. All, however, appears to be forgiven as Garry Cornes of P&O Nedlloyd, at right, presents Grant Smail with the prize for the most points scored this season. If this was the All Blacks there might not be an after-match function, but it seems that once the formalities are out of the way the door is open and the real celebrations can begin. Port has always been a major sponsor of the rk O Connor (L) presents Bluff Rugby Club rship cheque while Ron reciprocates with a an be seen from the background, this is not act on the wall between Mark and Ron is a 889, which was the first Bluff Rugby team. room as he retired as South Port s Wharf perations were recently presented to three certificates are tug boatswain Bruce Jones iansen and Ian Goldsworthy. South Port s annual golf tournament attracted the usual line-up of golfing greats to contest the prestigious Mayal Cup. A hard fought contest ensued, full of birdies, eagles and the occasional muttonbird. This year the winners were Danny Hailes and Peter Stone of Alliance Group corporate office. Once again, therefore, the Mayal Cup remains one of golf s few major trophies to elude Tiger Woods. 4

6 The Italian owned bulk carrier Red Fern at Tiwai Wharf. LARGEST LOGGER Larger ships have loaded logs and larger log shipments have been loaded, but the largest logger to load logs in Bluff is the appropriately named New Giant. Logger is a term we hesitate to use to describe a ship purpose built for the log trade but it seems to be the fashionable term, and we are nothing if not fashionable. Most of the ships that load logs in Bluff can carry between 20,000 and 25,000 tonnes. The New Giant doubles that figure with a deadweight capacity of 45,554 tonnes, which places her in the Handymax class, a size not normally associated with the log trade from New Zealand. In other trades, of course, this size of ship is commonplace in Bluff and they are far from the largest to visit the port, as the story above attests. Seen nearing completion of loading it seems the Humboldt Current has flowed out of Bluff for the last time. UNDISPUTED CHAMPION Ten years ago the September 1991 issue of The Bluff Portsider carried an article concerning the woodchip carrier Forest Wave. At 38,894 gross tonnes she was then the largest ship expressed in that measurement to have visited Bluff. As gross tonnage measures volume, and a woodchip carrier is more voluminous than a Victorian crinoline, it was predicted in the article that the Forest Wave, or one of her ilk, would remain the largest to visit Bluff. Over the intervening years, however, the Panamax class bulk carriers, of much larger deadweight tonnage, have gradually crept closer and finally the Forest Wave has lost her title. Her vanquisher is the Italian owned but Maltese flag vessel Red Fern but it was a points decision. One hundred and one points, to be exact - the Red Fern measured 38,995 gross tonnes. Appropriately named, the New Giant is the largest dedicated log carrier to have visited Bluff. NO LONGER CURRENT Regular traders through Bluff for many years, it appears the sisters Humboldt Current and Rossel Current may have made their last visits here. For the last nine years the pair have been chartered to the Australian mining and transport conglomerate, Broken Hill Proprietary, and employed on their BHP/IMTL service from Australia and New Zealand to the West Coast of North America. This charter has now come to its end and in future the ships will probably be trading elsewhere. Their deck cargo always attracted interest in Bluff for the extraordinary number of motor cruisers and yachts usually included. Last of the pair to sail from Bluff was the Humboldt Current seen loading in Bluff shortly before sailing for Long Beach on the third of July this year. 6

7 THE WEEKLY EXPRESS Bluff has a long tradition of trans-tasman shipping services. As the closest suitable port to Australia Bluff was the last New Zealand port for westbound vessels and the first for those eastbound on Union Steam Ship Company s famous Horseshoe Service. Similarly the Southern Kiwi Express operated by P&O-Nedlloyd and their transtasman partners Mediterranean Shipping Company (see page 8) has Bluff as its first New Zealand port of call. Due to the quantity of cargo passing through Bluff these calls are now weekly, offering enhanced opportunities to Southland shippers. The P&O-Nedlloyd sailings are operated by their subsidiary Tasman Express Line which featured in the Outbound from Bluff on the next leg of the Southern Service, the Wellington Express in Foveaux Strait. May 1991 issue of The Bluff Portsider. Employed on the service are the container ships Sydney Express and Wellington Express, while the Mediterranean Shipping Company s contribution is the MSC Kiwi. Shortly after her launching the Foveaux Freighter at the Rakiura Shippng terminal in Bluff with her passenger carrying fleetmate Foveaux Express. Over the past few months the Kaharoa has become one of the more familiar sights on the Bluff waterfront. Operated by N.I.W.A., she has been based in Bluff since she began working in Foveaux Strait surveying shipping routes. In this role she has been assisted by the survey launch Pelorus, last seen in Bluff slung under davits aboard the Royal New Zealand Navy survey ship Monowai. The 28 metre long Kaharoa was built in Whangarei as a fisheries research ship, her origins as a stem trawler being obvious in her appearance. Since completion of the much larger Tangaroa which has taken over much of the fisheries research role, the Kaharoa has been employed on other survey duties. These have now brought her south to IN SURVEY Foveaux Strait where she has been enjoying some of the country s better weather of recent months. The Kaharoa goes about her business in Foveaux Strait. THE FOVEAUX FREIGHTER Foveaux Strait has a new profile plying its waters following the recent introduction of the Foveaux Freighter. Built by Gough Brothers in Invercargill the Foveaux Freighter is the third vessel delivered by them to Rakiura Shipping for Foveaux Strait service. As her name indicates, the Foveaux Freighter is designed to carry cargo rather than passengers and is intended to bring farmed mussels and salmon from Stewart Island to the processing plants in Bluff, returning with fuel and general cargo. In this role she replaces the illfated Marine Maid, which sank after striking rocks off Stewart Island last year. Just over twenty metres long the Foveaux Freighter has her wheelhouse right forward leaving a clear after-deck for bulky cargo, with a capacious cargo hold below, both served by an aft-mounted crane. 7

8 MEDITERRANEAN SHIPPING COMPANY The MSC logo on one of their containers in Bluff. Land covers 1/3 of the earth - we cover the rest. This is the message that scrolls across the Mediterranean Shipping Company s website. It is no idle boast. The Mediterranean Shipping Company, commonly known as MSC, is the fourth largest container shipping company in the world with a fleet numbering about 140 vessels having a total slot capacity of around 255,000 TEU s. In 1999 MSC carried the equivalent of 1.8 million twenty-foot containers through 174 ports, ranging from Helsinki in the north to Bluff in the south. It is all a long way from 1970 when Italian sea captain Gianluigi Aponte founded the company in Naples with a capital of $5,000 and a small cargo ship. The ship was the Patricia, a fifteen-year old former German vessel of 1,750 gross tons, joined the following year by the slightly older Rafaela of 2,696 tons, also formerly under the German flag. Both were registered in the name of Mediterranean Shipping Company, of Monrovia, Liberia. With these two conventional cargo ships MSC began a liner service between the Mediterranean and East Africa in As the fleet expanded so the routes extended, to Northern Europe, The MSC New Zealand arriving off Bluff on a blustery day. South Africa and the Red Sea in 1977 and into the Indian Ocean the following year. Expansion was entirely through the judicious purchase of second hand ships, initially multi-purpose vessels, but increasingly purpose built container ships as these became available. The highly competitive North Atlantic container trade was entered in 1985 with the introduction of services from Europe to the East Coast of the United States. In 1989 a service between South Africa and Australia began. At first this operated at three-weekly intervals but was soon brought into line with the weekly frequency of most other MSC services. This service was subsequently extended to Europe and every week an MSC vessel sails on the direct Europe - Australia service, via South Africa. By utilising strategically located hub ports throughout the world all the MSC services interlink, giving those shipping with MSC access to Moving astern into her berth the MSC Kiwi makes her inaugural visit to Bluff. destinations worldwide. With the company s container network expanding rapidly, in 1989 MSC turned its attention to the cruising industry by purchasing a 50% interest in Lauro Lines, buying the company outright the following year. Lauro, marketed their services under the style Starlauro Cruise but the name was changed to Mediterranean Shipping Cruises in Finding the capacity of the three existing Starlauro ships inadequate for the potential clientele Mediterranean Shipping Cruises currently has five new cruise ships on order. Cruising is now a focus for the company s future expansion. After building up the container fleet with second-hand purchases MSC ordered its first new ships in Built by the Italian Fincantieri yard the MSC Alexa was delivered in 1996 to become the first new-building in the MSC fleet. Currently ten ships of 6,730 TEU each are on order. Five of these, worth some $300 million, will be owned by MSC and five chartered in. These container ships will be among the largest afloat and it is expected that they will be deployed on the service between Europe and the Far East. Last year MSC was voted the Shipping Line of the Year in a British poll. Now headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the founder of this still privately owned company, Gianluigi Aponte, remains in control as the President of MSC, leading a comparatively small team in Geneva of just 200 people. Elsewhere 350 offices look after the company s interests. Since the introduction of a trans-tasman feeder service last year, in association with the established P&O-Nedlloyd link, Southland shippers have access to MSC s global destinations through the port of Bluff. 8