The only specialised marine publication in Oceania that focuses on the maritime industry, from super yachts to small craft to large commercial ships, including coastal shipping, tugs, tow boats, barges, ferries, tourist, sport-fishing craft
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CRUISE LINE KEEN TO BUILD PACIFIC TOURISM The traditional business model of sailing to the Pacific Ocean with thousands of passengers and then simply taking them home again is unsustainable in the long-term, says a Pacific cruise operator. The chief executive of Carnival Australia, Ann Sherry, told the Pacific Forum on September 6 it welcomed initiatives to help connect the growing number of cruise ship visits to the South Pacific with economic opportunities for island communities. "The South Pacific is now at the heart of one of the world's fastest-growing cruise markets, with 120 cruises carrying 375,000 passengers scheduled for 2013 alone," she said. "With growth of this magnitude, it is essential we work cooperatively to connect cruising and economic opportunities for island communities." Carnival Australia had worked with AusAID, the Enterprise Challenge Fund and Australian Business Volunteers to enhance the South Pacific's economic wellbeing. Projects included management plans for key destinations in New Caledonia and Vanuatu to support environmentally sustainable ship visits, upgrading local infrastructure to accommodate cruise ships and assisting island communities to develop tourism-related business ventures. Support from the New Zealand government aid organisation The Liemba labourers then hauled them by hand through jungle and over mountains, slashing and smashing their way to the lake. The arrival of the British boats saw colonial jousting begin and the Germans eventually scuttled the Graf Goetzen off Kigoma rather than let her fall into British hands. The gunboat remained on the lake bottom for over 10 years, but after being raised and following minor engine repairs, in the true German tradition of quality manufacturing and engineering her engines roared back into life. It is said that before they scuttled her the Germans had encased the engines in grease so she could rise again as a waterborne phoenix. No-one knows who raised her but she eventually became British property and was renamed the Liemba. Today, the dented and battered vessel coughs, splutters, rattles and rolls her way across the lake twice a week between Kigoma, Tanzania and Mpulungu, Zambia. Her decks are crammed with hundreds of people and their assorted bundles and packages. How much longer she can survive is debatable. Her owners have requested the German government help with the cost of restoring her. She is after all, they claim, a significant piece of German maritime history. The company has, to date, not received any firm offer of assistance, but the German federal government and the government of Lower Saxony, where she was originally built, are still debating the matter. It is thought that as the Liemba is in such an advanced state of disrepair it would be more cost-effective to build an entirely new vessel. Ah yes, that phrase again … "cost-effective". But what about the history? That can never be recreated. The world is all the poorer because of accountants and number-crunchers. NZAid would help recruit a general manager to help the Aneityum community in southern Vanuatu develop shore tours. Sherry said the company had helped the community to buy a 40-seat tender to ferry passengers from nearby Mystery Island. Carnival Australia also welcomed proposals to conduct new hydrographic surveys of key shipping routes in the South Pacific to update very old paper-based navigational charts. AFRICAN STEAMER NEEDS RESTORATION Many of us have watched Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn take on the might of the German gunboat Louisa in the 1951 film African Queen, but few of us realise that the Louisa was modelled on a real steamer, the Liemba. The Liemba began life in 1913 as the German warship Graf Goetzen. She was built on the River Ems at Papenburg in northern Germany, the birthplace of many of today's most luxurious cruise ships. In the headlong rush to make territorial claims on the African continent she was broken down, packed into wooden crates and transported to Dar es Salaam. She was then transported overland to Lake Tanganyika, where Belgium, Germany and Britain were all involved in that mad scramble for territorial domination. Britain looked dimly on the presence of the boat on Africa's longest lake and replied by sending two of her own gunboats to counteract the German presence. These two vessels were sent by an equally tortuous route. firstly to South Africa and then north by railway as far as they could be taken. In typically stiff upper lip fashion, 2000 PASSENGER & WORKBOATS PHONE 03 546 8844 FAX 03 546 8919 EMAIL richard@mcbridedesign.co.nz www.mcbridedesign.co.nz VIP.S84 November/December 2011 Professional Skipper 65