working life - Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics

ON THE OcEAN
75yEaRS Of ThE SydnEy haRbOUR bRidgE
On March 18, 2007, WWL participated
in the 75th anniversary celebrations
of the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge
in Australia. When the bridge was
first opened in 1932, Wilh. Wilhemsen’s
MV Temeraire was one of the first
vessels to pass under it as part of
the opening ceremony. In 2007,
the honour instead fell to Wallenius
Wilhemsen Logistics MV Texas.
“We were asked to participate in the celebrations
and, fortunately, our schedule happened
to have us in Sydney on that particular
day,” comments Bjørnar Larssen, captain
onboard the MV Texas. “Furthermore, a
Wilhelmsen ship had led the inbound convoy
when the bridge was opened 75 years ago.
We prepared by touching up the paintwork
on the side of the ship and the names, and
then we hoisted signal
flags, which is a common
custom in the shipping
industry when celebrating.
We also assisted
local representatives in
arranging fireworks and
other effects when we
passed by.”
Bjørnar Larssen.
The MV Texas is a RoRo vessel that
carries High and Heavy cargo, such as
machinery and vehicles used in construction
and agriculture, motor vehicles and break
bulk. Back in the days of the MV Temeraire,
shipping was a very different business.
The MV Temeraire was
delivered to Wilh. Willhelmsen
from St. Nazaire, South
Africa, in December 1927.
In 1958 it was renamed MV
Vogesen and sold
to Germany.
The vessels of today are considerably larger
and faster and the time spent in port is significantly
shorter, with staff working round
the clock. At the time of the bridge opening in
1932, Australia was an export market for products
such as foodstuffs and wool, whereas
The MV Temeraire was 138
meter long, compared to the
162 meter length of MV Texas.
Temeraire also had a gross
tonnage of 6465 MT – less than
a tenth of that of MV Texas.
When MV Texas passed
under the Sydney Harbour
Bridge on March 18 it was
repeating history.
it is now primarily an import market, with
WWL carrying predominantly High and
Heavy products and vehicles into the country.
Gregory and Joan Richardson were two of
six siblings who were onboard the MV Temeraire
when the Sydney Harbour Bridge was
officially opened in 1932. Their father worked
for a wool­buying firm, which was one of
Wallenius Wilhemsen Logistics’ customers
back when wool was a major export product.
They remember sailing from Woolloomooloo
and travelling under the bridge before returning
to port. There was a ‘Punch and Judy’
show onboard and the children were each
given ice­cream.
“We were still in the depression at
the time, so ice­cream was a big treat!”
comments Gregory Richardson.
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