SPECIAL REPORT

Back in the doldrums

The greatest fear of the clipper ships that plied the Australia to Europe trade in days of yore was to be stuck in the doldrums, the ‘belt of calm’ that lies inside the tradewinds close to the equator. Conditions right now might not be calm but carriers are sure taking a belting, reports Dale Crisp

Service with Three still standing

FIVE HAS become three since our last report but the basic service pattern remains: two services use the Suez Canal and one the Panama Canal, and all three are ‘direct’ in the broadest sense only as they incorporate multi-sector activity en-route to and from Europe.