Thirty-four years ago yesterday, the Bank Line's Ernebank berthed at Port Chalmers to discharge cargo. A few weeks later, the vessel built at the Doxford yard in 1965 returned and berthed at Dunedin on July 19, to load for overseas.
Over the years, ships from this fleet arrived here with phosphate from the Pacific islands, sulphur and general cargo from the United States Gulf Coast ports and, occasionally, drums of bitumen from Trinidad. Sometimes, they would load wool bound for Europe.
Ernebank was the last vessel from this fleet to call here. This fleet had been well represented here from September 1945, with 233 visits from 76 steamers and motor ships built during the years 1924 to 1972.
It was also 34 years ago when the ACT and OCL container ships started calling here. By then the extension of their original services to Australia had already brought about the demise of the conventional cargo liner fleet operating in the United Kingdom-New Zealand trade.
Disposals starting in 1971 resulted in most of the older vessels going for scrap, while later units were sold for further trading.
The ships we once associated with, and which were built for, owners in this trade, had all gone from the local scene by early 1978. The Blue Star and Port Lines were part of the ACT consortium, with Shaw, Savill and the P&O group being linked up with OCL.
The last Blue Star cargo liners to berth here (and which were both built in 1958) were Auckland Star, which berthed at Port Chalmers on May 2, 1976, and Rockhampton Star, which berthed at Dunedin on January 19, 1978.
Port Nicholson, which was built in 1962, was the last of the Port fleet to visit Dunedin, on May 4, 1977. Port New Plymouth (1960) brought this company's colours here for the last time when it berthed at Port Chalmers on July 25, 1977.
Shaw, Savill links ended when the 1963-built Medic arrived in the lower harbour on October 7, 1976, and Icenic (1960)) arrived at Dunedin on August 29, 1977.
The two other operators on the route were the associated Federal Steam Navigation and New Zealand Shipping Companies, members of the P&O group. Federal took over the ownership of the NZSCo ships in 1967. Then, after October 1971, all of the group's cargo ship fleets were rebranded and given a new livery under the parent P&O name.
The last ships built for the two lines to call at Port Chalmers were the 1949-built Sussex, on April 14, 1976, and a few weeks later, on May 12, Tekoa (built in 1966). And at Dunedin the chapter closed with the arrival of Turakina (l960) on April 3, 1977, and the 11-year old Westmorland on December 12, 1977.
Last week, another two first-time visitors loaded logs at Port Chalmers. First in was the 19,993gt, 31,830dwt, Hong Kong-registered Jin Guang Ling. Completed on September 29, 2009, the ship is owned within the large China Ocean Shipping group (COSCO) by Jinguangling Maritime SA, of Guangzhou, China. The vessel was also built there by the CSSC Guangzhou Huangpu shipyard.
Second to berth was the 16,721gt Mathawee Naree. The vessel has been owned by Precious Emerald Ltd, part of the Precious Shipping group of Bangkok, since July 2005. It was delivered from the Imabari yard at Marugame, Japan, in December 1996, and served as Ocean Camillia up to 2002, then as Joy Victory until 2005.
The next log ship due this week, third-time visitor Hanjin Brisbane, will load at the Leith wharf before moving down to the Beach St berth. This 16,252gt, 14-year-old vessel discharged cement from China at Port Chalmers and Dunedin in February 2008, and was back in August 2009, loading logs at Beach St bound for Shanghai.
