Blue Star Gangway No.15 Spring 1978 - BlueStarLine.org

~ustraliaStar'
Christening
· the
new building capacity.
In this very gravely distorted scene
the Common Market Commission in
Brussels is pressing the EEC shipbuilders
to cut their capacity by one
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
course, be doing everything we can
through the Government to persuade
EECto
~~:~~
adopt a different policy, but
what we are up against is typical of the
can spell life or death for
81ue Star IlJaugurates ~;;~;~~
new container service The
Australia Star, the first of a new class
of container ship, was named on 25
January 1978 by Mrs Sally Nixon, wife
of the Australian Federal Minister for
Transport, at Haverton Hill Yard of
Smiths' Dock, Middlesbrough.
The new 16,000-ton fully-cellular
vessel will inaugurate a regular container
service operated by Blue Star
Line between Australia and New
Zealand and the Gulf States of the
Middles East. A sister ship, New
Zealand Star, is being named at the
same yard in April and will operate on
the same route. Sailings will be at
monthly intervals, out of one New
Zealand port and two Australian ports
to one port in Iran and three or four
ports in the Gulf States.
The two specially designed 19-knot
container ships are equipped with the
latest navigational aids and cranes,
capable of handling 20-ft and 40-ft
containers. Each ship can carry 308
refrigerated containers and 346 general
service containers. Gas tight subdivisions
in the hold spaces will give
separate containment for groupings of
24, 60, 80, and 140 containers,
allowing carriage of a wide range of
non-compatible temperature-controlled
foodstuffs at temperatures
ranging from minus 23 degrees centigrade
to plus 12 degrees centigrade.
Mr Jim Payne, Deputy Chairman of
Blue Star Line, commented that the
ships had been specially designed with
the congestion problems of the Gulf in
mind. Consequently, they were highly
self-sufficient and able to load or discharge
at almost any port in the Gulf.
He added that Blue Star Line had
chosen the fully cellular design because
it had proved the most efficient
concept for refrigerated transportation
and offered adaptability for most
general cargo.
Speeches were made at the
Christening by Admiral Sir Anthony
Griffin, GCB, Chairman of British Shipbuilders,
and Mr Edmund Vestey,
Chairman of Blue Star Line. The text
of their addressesis reproduced below.
Also present were the Line's General
Manager for the new service, Graham
Lightfoot of BSL Australia, and the
Gulf General Manager based at Dubai,
Michael Morse.
2
nameof the game is survival and
w~ ~an't I?ok to the British taxpayer or
British shipowners to do much more
'The name of the game than they have done already-both
- _, have their own problems. No, the
IS survival
answer lies in our own hands. We are
Admiral Sir Anthony Griffin's speech all members of the same club, and
at the Christening of 'Australia Star' every time we compete amongst our-
Of course some people, -like Mr selves and try to take the mickey out
Vestey perhaps, think they own the of each other, our true opponent is
ship becausethey paid for it. The ship's laughing happily into his saki.
Master is also sometimes referred to as British Shipbuilders' strategy has
the 'Owner'-but as decently as I can been to give priority to obtaining new
I have to tell them that they can never orders so that we can stabilise a near
own the ship in the sensethat you (Mrs catastrophic situation and gain time
Nixon) do. By naming her, she is yours to sort out our fundamental problems,
for life-and if I was the ship I'd live particularly in the field of labour
happily ever after.
relations. Here the origins are at least
She will be a very fine ship, and we 100 yearsold and have resulted in deep
all confidently expect her to match up rooted and deeply felt attitudes which
to the great new trading initiative arevery hard indeed to change quickly.
which Blue Star has taken in the Gulf/ However, change they must and only
Australasia route. The Company those yards where this has happened
deserves every continuing success, al~eady,r is likely to happen very soon,
especially as it was they who placed will survive.
the order with this yard in December It's no longer a matter between we
1976, thereby saving 1500 jobs for and they. 'We' are now us-and we
nearly 18 months.
all need to act as though we were self-
It's all the more regrettable, there- employed.
fore, that we have such serious Having said all that, I wouldn't
industrial problems here as to disrupt want anyone to think that British
the building programme. However, I Shipbuilders lack confidence. We have
want to say nothing on this occasion the most versatile Shipbuilding Corto
embarrass or prejudice those who poration in the world, with the skill
are trying to sort things out on the and ability to build anything from small
spot. That's where the solution lies.The craft to VLCCs, from patrol boats to
further you get from the problems the nuclear submarines and aircraft
further you get from the solution, and carriers.
I have repeatedly represented this to We are competitive with most West
the Government. European shipyards and in certain
Having said that, no-ons should classes of ship we are competitive
ignore what is going on in the world even with the Far East. Relative to our
about us. Forces are operating there normal capacity we did better over
which will destroy all but the best of us. new orders last year than most other
The effect of world trading conditions free world countries, including Japan,
not coming up to expectations is that and many yards have full order books
the world's shipbuilding capacity is until the end of 1979.
about four times the demand.
We are trying to make a decentra-
The world order book, and our own, lised system work by concentrating on
have halved in the past eighteen broad policy and leaving its execution
months. Many yards in Europe and to the people on the spot. As part of this
even in Japan have gone bankrupt scheme we want to encourage partiand
closed. The Japanese order book cular yards to sustain or develop
at the end of 1973 stood at 63 million special relationships with their
GRT; it is now down to 12 million, and customers-and here the close liaison
much of that is due to be completed in between such a distinguished line as
the next six months. Meanwhile, the Blue Star and Smith's Dock is a most
Comecon countries and third world encouraging example for -the rest of
nations such as Korea, Taiwan, Brasil, the industry to follow. Perhaps I might
and Mexico are producing even more be allowed to make special mention of