Where Chip Ships Meet

This happened for the first time recently and it probably won't happen again for a while. The two chip ships plying between Nelson and Japan, the Hijiri Maru and the Nelson Maru, passed each other in Tasman Bay. This was the Hijiri's 21st voyage and the Nelson's second. The ships are almost identical and comparisons, with the Hijiri's statistics first, are: Deadweight, 22, 000 tons, 24, 000 tons; length, 538ft, 542ft; crew, 28, 26; chip capacity, 16, 388 tons, 16, 630 tons. The Hijiri Maru started the chip run in November 1969 and the Nelson Maru in November 1971. In our picture the Hijiri Maru is on the left, leaving Nelson, and the Nelson Maru is on the way in.

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