Author Topic: Information on shipping routes in the South pacific in 1981/82  (Read 1773 times)

Offline Michael G.

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Information on shipping routes in the South pacific in 1981/82
« on: February 14, 2021, 06:10:31 PM »
Hello everybody,

My name is Michael and I am an amateur novelist.

For a story I'm currently writnig, I need information about shipping routes in the South pacific in 1981/82.

Thus, I would like to know if any merchant ships left New Zealand or Australia to go to Chilean or Argentinian ports at that time, after crossing the South Pacific.

Would you know then what types of ships these were? Oil tankers, container ships, cruise ships, others? Also, would you have the names of some of these ships and the nature of their cargo?

In the event that no ship would have passed through there, were there sea routes in the other direction, via Southeast Asian waters and then the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean (thus passing through other ports maybe, such as Singapore or Cape Town)?

I would be very grateful if you could provide me with this information or direct me to somebody who could or to a website containing archives.

Michael

Offline Cisco

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Re: Information on shipping routes in the South pacific in 1981/82
« Reply #1 on: February 17, 2021, 09:50:58 AM »
Hello Michael,
I responded to your query over on 'Cruisers Forum'  under my Patagonian 'nom de plume' ... El Ping

Offline Nigel Price

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Re: Information on shipping routes in the South pacific in 1981/82
« Reply #2 on: February 17, 2021, 11:03:53 AM »
Yes, I recall getting containers shipped on Mitsui-OSK line vessels from Buenos Aires to Auckland in the early 1990's. I think there was about 1 sailing per month each way from Santos, BA and Valparaiso to Auckland and then onwards to East Coast Australia ports. I think the vessels were in the 2000-2500 TEU size area. The schedule often slipped a week from what had been listed at booking time, I suspect due to erratic port windows in the South American ports at the time, and coming westwards they were going against the wind, waves and storms of the roaring forties quite a lot of the way crossing from the bottom of South America. At some stage, I don't recall when, this direct service was stopped , and replaced by trans shipments  via a string going northwards on the Pacific coast with a transhipment made in Panama to vessels coming down to NZ and Australia.

Offline Michael G.

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Re: Information on shipping routes in the South pacific in 1981/82
« Reply #3 on: February 17, 2021, 02:21:33 PM »
Hello Michael,
I responded to your query over on 'Cruisers Forum'  under my Patagonian 'nom de plume' ... El Ping

Offline Michael G.

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Re: Information on shipping routes in the South pacific in 1981/82
« Reply #4 on: February 17, 2021, 02:24:11 PM »
Yes, I recall getting containers shipped on Mitsui-OSK line vessels from Buenos Aires to Auckland in the early 1990's. I think there was about 1 sailing per month each way from Santos, BA and Valparaiso to Auckland and then onwards to East Coast Australia ports. I think the vessels were in the 2000-2500 TEU size area. The schedule often slipped a week from what had been listed at booking time, I suspect due to erratic port windows in the South American ports at the time, and coming westwards they were going against the wind, waves and storms of the roaring forties quite a lot of the way crossing from the bottom of South America. At some stage, I don't recall when, this direct service was stopped , and replaced by trans shipments  via a string going northwards on the Pacific coast with a transhipment made in Panama to vessels coming down to NZ and Australia.

Thank for your reply. But if you had info about travels ten years earlier, I would appreciate even more that info.

Offline Brent

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Re: Information on shipping routes in the South pacific in 1981/82
« Reply #5 on: February 17, 2021, 05:43:10 PM »
In 1981 Brazil's Lloyd Brasileiro operated a cargo service from Australian ports and Auckland to east coast South America, not sure about exact discharge ports though surely Buenos Aires one. Columbus Line and Shipping Corp. of NZ called at Callao and Guayaquil from the same loadports, en route to the Caribbean with container ships. The dairy board may have then been chartering general cargo ships for dairy to Central America, but can't find any regular service to Chile. It would be hard to find any tramps on the route though, New Zealand Marine news would be a good avenue to look if have access.
...

Offline Michael G.

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Re: Information on shipping routes in the South pacific in 1981/82
« Reply #6 on: February 18, 2021, 12:20:00 PM »
In 1981 Brazil's Lloyd Brasileiro operated a cargo service from Australian ports and Auckland to east coast South America, not sure about exact discharge ports though surely Buenos Aires one. Columbus Line and Shipping Corp. of NZ called at Callao and Guayaquil from the same loadports, en route to the Caribbean with container ships. The dairy board may have then been chartering general cargo ships for dairy to Central America, but can't find any regular service to Chile. It would be hard to find any tramps on the route though, New Zealand Marine news would be a good avenue to look if have access.

Thanks a lot for this info. Sounds very promising. I'm going to search more about that brazilian shipowner and New Zealand Marine news.
I've read somewhere else that vessels too LARGE to cross the Panama Canal would go through the Strait of Magellan. It seems they are/were dedicated to transport iron ore or coal. Would you know more about it?

Offline Cisco

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Re: Information on shipping routes in the South pacific in 1981/82
« Reply #7 on: February 19, 2021, 04:33:35 AM »
About the time you are interested some large container ships would go around the Horn when bound Australia and/or New Zealand to Northern Europe. This was not on account of their size but simply to avoid the canal dues. But they would go direct without stopping in South America.

Bigger ships going from the west coast  of the continent  towards the Atlantic would typically do the same.. mind you the largest ship I have seen in the Strait is the USS George Washington.
Much of the traffic through the strait is smaller tonnage  up to say 50,000 tons and representing all classes of ship. It is pilotage waters.

Offline Cisco

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Re: Information on shipping routes in the South pacific in 1981/82
« Reply #8 on: February 19, 2021, 05:21:11 AM »
And also.... seeing the note in an earlier post about tramp ships.

Andrew Weir ...the king of the cross trades... established two services in the early 20th century.... Australasia/Chile and Peru and India/South Africa/West coast south america.

They were wound up at the end of the 70s but they managed to lose the Levernbank on the Peruvian coast in 1974.

http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/bank.shtml

An earlier true tramping trade that probably ceased to be in the 1930s was coal from Newcastle, N.S.W. to the Nitrate Coast ( northern Chile and Peru ) with ships then loading nitrates for Europe.

Offline Michael G.

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Re: Information on shipping routes in the South pacific in 1981/82
« Reply #9 on: February 19, 2021, 05:19:17 PM »
And also.... seeing the note in an earlier post about tramp ships.

Andrew Weir ...the king of the cross trades... established two services in the early 20th century.... Australasia/Chile and Peru and India/South Africa/West coast south america.

They were wound up at the end of the 70s but they managed to lose the Levernbank on the Peruvian coast in 1974.

http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/bank.shtml

An earlier true tramping trade that probably ceased to be in the 1930s was coal from Newcastle, N.S.W. to the Nitrate Coast ( northern Chile and Peru ) with ships then loading nitrates for Europe.

Hi Cisco,

Thanks for your comments. They are very interesting indeed.

I take this opportunity to thank everyone who took the trouble to answer my question. It's very kind of you and very helpful for my research, knowing that I don't know much about this topic.

By the way, if you have more info, you're more than welcome to write them down here. 

 

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