By Phil Boeyen, ShareChat Business News Editor
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Monday 29th October 2001 |
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The company says it has had positive reports from recent site visits by both New Zealand and US maritime inspectors and there will be a final check-off from the NZ Maritime Safety Authority on November 5th.
"We will then announce a start date and operating schedule," the company says.
An inspector from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) also completed an on site visit last month and SUB says the visit went well and it is now closing final ABS comments for full class certification of its deep-dive submarine, the Antipodes.
The Antipodes completed its first dive at the site back in May and the company had hoped to receive ABS approval that month but the certification process has dragged on much longer, taking the company's share price with it.
Meanwhile, now that the income-generating service looks set to take to the water, the company says it is carefully monitoring the financial and marketing implications resulting from the events of September 11 and the resulting changes in tourist travel patterns.
"It would appear that the effects of the terrorist attacks are yet to be felt in NZ, although there may be an effect on forward bookings in the period January to March 2002, particularly out of the US market.
"In contrast, there is evidence of large increases in visitors coming out of some Asian and European markets."
Air New Zealand (NZSE: AIRVA) last week announced it had cut a number of services in response to the downturn in world travel.
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