Page 24: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (March 1969)

New York Conference Tries To Solve "The Path Of The Container Hurricane" Is containerization the answer to the spiraling costs of ocean trans-portation, and what problems do ship owners and shippers face in the rapid changeover to containers? The pros and cons to these ques-tions were discussed in detail at the Ninth Annual Conference on Containerization sponsored by The Containerization Institute, Inc., held recently in New York City. The theme of the conference was "The Path of the Container Hur-ricane?1969." The conference pro-gram was set by Dr. John J. Mc-Mullen, president, United States Lines, who served as program chairman; Richard Craw, assistant to the president, Grace Line, who served as assistant chairman, and Glenn Mather, The Containeriza-tion Institute, who served as co-ordinator. The two-day conference consist-ed of three panel discussions?"Is Containerization the Total Pana-cea?"; "Conferences and Contain-erization, Can This Marriage Last?" and "The Defoliation of the Paperwork Jungle." The conference theme was set by Arthur C. Novacek, president of Grace Line and president of The Containerization Institute, in his introductory remarks. He com-mented that "The participants in this conference comprise one of the most knowledgeable groups on the subject yet to be assembled" and should be able to pinpoint problems and answers which will be useful to the world community. John J. McMullen, president of United States Lines, spoke at the first-day luncheon on the overall subject of containerization. Mr. McMullen traced briefly the his-tory and development of the pres-ent-day containerization system. He noted that shipowners "experi-mented with palletization and small unit loads, but these halfway meas-ures simply wasted time and solved nothing. Only the container and a ship designed for large volume and quick cargo handling could provide economies sufficient to satisfy the shipper and successfully help trade, as well as provide a profitable busi-ness for the owner." Mr. McMullen called for a "truly integrated transportation system" which might find the trucking firms better suited to operating the con-tainer transport than the steamship operator. In closing he stated "the new role of the owner will become more and more that of the financial man-ager investing in newer, faster and larger equipment to maintain profit-ability. Obviously, this can only lead to a concentration of through international transport systems in fewer companies possessing the re-sources of finance and management necessary to implement these changes." During the first panel discussion, Edward E. Bridges, transportation analyst for Moller Steamship Com-pany, expressed the opinion that "neither containerization nor pal-letization by themselves are pana-ceas." The reasoning behind this feeling was that while U.S.-Europe and U.S.-Japan routes may be ideal for containerization, steamships travel all over the world and most countries are not physically setup to handle containers. Mr. Bridges did feel that changes are coming because of transporta-tion economics. "It is apparent that almost all steamship companies have at last either partially or fully," noted the panelist, "exposed their own operations to the harsh light of transportation economics, resulting in the inescapable conclu-sion that break-bulk operation must go. Whether it be palletization, containerization, or some other 'tool' not yet dreamed up, their economic survival demands auto-mation of some kind." Another panelist, Joseph G. Bar-kan, executive vice-president of Prudential Lines, described the lighter-aboard-ship concept which Prudential will be using. He stated that his firm is not anti-container and is anxious to carry them, but "what we do question is the mag-nitude and the economic feasibility of keeping an expensive container vessel operating in a limited mar-ket. This is precisely one of the reasons why Prudential has devel-oped the LASH system." He sup-ported this statement with cost fig-ures for break-bulk, container, and LASH operations. Carl G. Moberg, export manager for Westinghouse Electric Interna-tional Co., took the shippers view-point on this panel. He pointed out that most shippers were not con-sulted on containerization and that "containers are not the total pana-cea." He felt that the present-day container-size standards are wrong and also questioned how an export-er will ship equipment that cannot be put in containers, when contain-erships have driven the break-bulk ship out of service. This first panel was moderated by M. S. Pennington, chief, Office of Maritime Promotion, Maritime Administration. Panelists other than those mentioned previously were: Donald L. Loftus, assistant vice-president, intermodal services, Western Pacific Railroad; James B. Rose, European manager, con-tainer operations, U.S. Lines, and Frank M. Winterholler, vice-presi-dent, Bell Lines, Inc. The second panel discussion, covering conferences, was moder-ated by George H. Hearn, commis-sioner, Federal Maritime Commis-sion. The panelists were: Capt. George Legnos, manager of Farrell Lines containerization development program ; M. J. Kelly, vice-presi-dent, Moore-McCormack Lines; Henry V. Kantzer, president, Puer-to Rican Forwarding Company, and A. E. Bowen, president, Con-solidated Forwarders Intermodel Container Corporation. The third panel, discussing paper-work, was moderated by Robert Blackwell, Department of Trans-portation. The panelists were: Ar-thur Bardenhagen, vice-president, Irving Trust Company; Arthur E. Baylis, national director, National Committee on International Trade Documentation; Robert L. Dau-send, director, industry and regula-tory affairs, Sea-Land Service Inc.; C. Haxthausen, manager, cargo services, Pan American Airways, and Robert E. Traut, transport sec-tion, Resources and Transport Di-vision, United Nations. Ogden Acquires Bulk Transport Ogden Corporation has an-nounced the acquisition of Bulk Transport and affiliated companies in a transaction involving more than $25-million in Ogden stock, according to Ralph E. Ablon, chair-man of Ogden. The acquisition of Bulk, accord-ing to Mr. Ablon, is an important addition to the systems capability Edmund F. Martin, chairman and chief executive officer of Bethle-hem Steel Corporation, has an-nounced that directors have ap-proved the expenditure of more than $15-million for the construc-tion of a large shipbuilding basin at the Sparrows Point, Md., ship-yard. The new facility, Mr. Martin said, will enable the yard to con-struct tankers ranging to more than 200,000 dwt in capacity. It will have a length of more than 1,000 feet and a width greater than any ship built to date, and is scheduled for completion late in 1970. "The present active market for new ship construction and favor-able forecasts for new business in-dicate a trend toward ship sizes beyond the dimensions of our pres-ent shipways at Sparrows Point," Mr. Martin said. "We must now plan for the construction of ships with greater lengths and beams to of Ogden's Engineered Transporta-tion group. This group now com-prises International Terminal Op-erating Co. Inc., major marine terminal operators; Logistics Sys-tems, Inc., a company engaged in creative systems analysis for trans-portation logistics ; and, pending a favorable tax ruling, Soros Associ-ates, Inc., an engineering consult-ing firm, specializing in engineer-ing of integrated transportation facilities. Bulk Transport will enable Og-den to offer a more complete sys-tems service to industry. Bulk owns and operates 15 American-flag ves-sels, including nine bulk carriers, two tankers, and four freighters, as well as three foreign-flag bulk car-riers. In addition, two 37,500-dwt American-flag tankers are under construction and scheduled for de-livery during the first half of 1969. Ogden Corporation is a multi-management industrial operating company with diverse interests in-cluding foods, marine construction, metals, technology products, trans-portation systems, and real estate development. participate in the market we fore-see for the next 10 years." To be built in the southern area of the yard, the new basin will complement the existing five major launching ways at the yard which are capable of handling ships up to 830 feet in length. The huge capital expenditure also provides for a new sandblast-ing and painting building, and comes on top of a multi-million dol-lar program already underway at the yard. That program will pro-vide a system in which precoated plates, shapes and webs will be transported by conveyors and as-sembled in large units. The Sparrows Point yard is now building ships ranging up to almost 70,000 dwt. This program, which includes deliveries extending to 1971, consists of 16 tankers, two containerships and two U.S. Navy ammunition ships, or a total of 20 vessels. Bethlehem Steel Expanding Sparrows Point To Provide For Building 200,000-Dwt Ships Aerial view of Bethlehem Steel Company's Sparrows Point, Md. shipyard with steel mill in background. Broken white line indicates location and size of new shipbuilding basin for constructing ships of 200,000 dwt or more and over 1,000 feet long. 30 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News