Dockers leader to speak
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A FIERY discussion on this very problem is expected to develop between speakers and delegates to the conference being held in conjunction with the forthcoming Freight Container and Container Handling Exhibition, sponsored by sister journal Freight Management, which takes place at Earls Court, London, from September 22 to 26. Reason for this prediction is the news that the ILA's toughguy leader Gleason (mentioned above) is giving a paper dealing with labour problems and container handling.
News that Mr. Gleason will be participating was given in the conference programme which was published recently by Independent Trade Missions, who are organizing the conference. Theme of the conference, which will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday. September 23 and 24, will be "The container and the user" and among subjects discussed on the first day will be the experience of the motor manufacturing trade with containers: the effect of containerization on the wool industry and the refrigeration trade: future trends in container handling: the problem of consolidating container loads. On the second day, papers will be given about the swing away from the ISO recommendations; world-wide container pooling; documentation and insurance problems: computer systems to help containerization and, as mentioned earlier, the labour problem. Further details can be obtained from Independent Trade Missions, 25 Queen Anne's Gate, London, SW1. THE possibility that container-carrying barges could seriously challenge road and rail carriers in this country seems pretty remote. But it is a distinct possibility for the not-so-distant future.
With containerization still in the teething stage, transport, distribution and shipping men on both sides of the Atlantic await with interest the next stage of land/sea door-to-door transportation automation—the sailing in September this year of the first LASH vessel (the initials stand for "lighter aboard ship"). The LASH principle, in which a seagoing vessel provides transport and handling gear for a given number of large, box-shaped floating barges, is looked upon by many as a Jules Verne-type pipedream. This is understandable, perhaps, as the cargo-carrying lighters have a capacity of 400 tons and require giant, onboard cranes capable of handling gross weights up to 500 tons, to lift them from the water and stack them into large capacity holds aboard ship.
In contrast to the container, the LASH system does not require the shipper to make his cargo fit the inner dimensions of the loading compartment, at least not with conventional general cargo, although the intention is to carry ISO containers in the barges as well. The large capacity of the barges (61ft long x 31ft wide x 13ft high) makes it possible to convey awkward, "out-of-gauge" goods such as large pipes, machinery and bulk cargoes. Thus it is more versatile than the ISO container in meeting freighting requirements.
• The system differs fundamentally from ordinary containerization in yet another point which makes it attractive to the shipper. The high costs of investment in ships and lighters involve the ocean carriers only. They have calculated that with major savings in harbour dues and transhipment costs and the exceptionally rapid turnover of their carrier ships, the high initial costs of the system will be far more rapidly recovered than with any other system of sea transport. The ships will never need to come alongside a quay to load and unload. They are thus independent of strikes and port congestion.
At present 17 of these barge-carrying vessels are being built with a total loading capacity'of 426,000 tons. The first one, with two sister ships, will arrive in England (off Sheerness) in October. where she will discharge about 20 400-ton barges for onward sea haul to destinations in the southern part of the country. The balance of the 73 barge complement will travel in the ship to Rotterdam where they will be towed to interior destinations.
While the LASI-Isystem might be considered the "ultimate" in unitized sea carrying techniques, it may only be the beginning of a cargo-carrying revolution at sea. Already planned for inauguration in 1971 is a service of Seabee freighters which will carry even larger barges (96ft long) and even more sophisticated barge-carrying systems sun as the European Barge Carrier System.