THE ANTIPODEAN WATERFRONT

The second great force is the result of a world view, evolved roughly at the time of the first two generations of container ships, which saw the container business rather like a bus service which began in the Northwest Europe Depot and finished at the New South Wales Barn. This view, which has its roots in the old general cargo Commonwealth liner trades, was very persistent and carried on until at least the mid 1980s, before the world woke up and saw that the main haul between Asia and the other major markets was the main event, and Australasia was a feeder away from any number of Asian hub ports further north.

The third great force was a mere echo of events in Japan where the waterfront unions resisted containers, night working, weekend working and the minimisation of labour forces, whilst at the same time enjoying rather high rates of pay. Ships calling in Japan and then Sydney found themselves paying the same rate per unit moved. The Australian wharfies found it not too difficult at all to stevedore Japanese style.

It is all different nowadays of course. Today there are driverless straddle carriers in Brisbane and rates which are, if not comparable to Hong Kong or Singapore, at least bear comparison with Genoa or Charleston.

The characteristic troubles of the Australian waterfront so far as we underwriters are concerned are the sorts of things you might expect. There have been plenty of injuries to the misfortune-plagued wharfies which have resulted in claims. The slightly less than modern gantries in places like Fremantle or Botany Bay have been known to have suffered at the hands of ships a-docking without an entirely full load. Another feature of the market has been over the years, the number of have-a-go operations ready and willing to underwrite Australian waterfront risks at truly competitive levels. They read like a Who’s Who of the insurance industry of yesteryear. To name but a few there have been HIH, SIO, Heath’s, Switzerland General, Camat, all in and out of the market.

Australia is also of course the original home of the great P&O Ports division, an infant business driven into global promise by Capt Richard Setchell and colleagues, which today is apparently the core of P&O’s business in the future – post containers, post ferries, post everything.

Back in the pioneering days we all watched in wonder as P&O Ports Australia expanded beyond its Australasian base and moved into Manila, Vostochney, Shenzhen, Indonesia, Buenos Aires, India and then latterly throughout the United States. Nothing had ever been seen like it, until of course Mr Li Ka Shing began to get interested.

Life is surely somewhat quieter on the waterfront these days Downunder. But every now and again its larger than life influence comes to the attention of the world, be it in the form of the incredible livestock business which it transacts; or its attempts to re-centre the trade northwards by means of a linking railway running all the way from Darwin to Adelaide; or by its tendency to place under arrest the ships which fail its port state surveys; or because of ships which have the temerity to bring pests into an Australian harbour only to find the gentlemen from the Quaratine department suffering from their normal complete failure of humour.