companies now locked in a life-and-death struggle for commercial survival.

Bermuda Container Lines and Bermuda International Shipping have been at each other's throats since BCL hinted two weeks ago that some kind of merger might be in the companies' best interests and Bermuda's.

BISL director Mr. Henry Hayward replied that BCL had victimised itself with wrong-headed economics in the building of the new Oleander , a ship with enough capacity to carry all the container business between New Jersey and Bermuda.

"Brewernomics'' was the derogatory word he used to dismiss the planning of BCL director Mr. William Brewer.

He later released a formal BISL statement suggesting that if BCL had its way the Bermuda public would have to pay more for its imported goods.

On Monday, BCL countered in a newspaper advertisement saying Bermudians deserved to be "fully and fairly'' informed on the issue.

BISL, it said, had accused it of trying to burden the public with unneccessarily high freight rates to pay for the "Rolls Royce'' Oleander .

But BCL reminded readers that in 1979 Mr. Hayward voiced virtually the same complaint about BCL's plans to build its namesake predecessor -- a vessel that "performed well and economically'' with freight rates well below the cost of living.

BCL, in its advertisement, also argued that its near-total Bermudian ownership -- as opposed to BISL's "unreliable'' 40 percent foreign ownership -- guaranteed it would work in the Island's best interests.

This week, both Mr. Brewer and Mr. Hayward admitted to hard feelings.

"There's little love loss between us,'' Mr. Brewer said.

"We're competitors with completely different philosophies,'' said Mr.

Hayward.

Ironically, the two companies work together in a 50/50 arrangement in Somers Isle Shipping Ltd. which operates regular trips by the Somers Isles container ship out of Florida.

Bad blood may have developed during the late 1980s when BISL set up a New Jersey-Bermuda shipping service that put it in direct competition with BCL.

The situation turned critical with the 1990 arrival of the new Oleander with a capacity for 360 containers.

Since then, the two companies have squeezed out a third ship on the New Jersey route represented locally by Harnett & Richardson.

Even so, their ships are not making money. Oleander carries about 70 percent of all containers from new York while BISL's Bermuda Islander accounts for the rest.

"Companies cannot lose money indefinitely,'' BCL's advertisement said ominously.

In outlining three possibilities for the unprofitable shipping route, BCL suggested using a formal government commission to set joint rates -- a possibility BISL rejected in 1990. BISL scoffed at its second suggestion for a joint operation.

The third option, BCL said, was to allow the present situation to continue "until one of the competitors has reached the end of its resources...'' To this end, it said, "BCL will therefore do whatever is necessary to prevail.'' Mr. Hayward's reply to all suggestions was that BCL simply ease the situation by dumping the Oleander for a ship with a capacity more appropriate for the Bermuda-New Jersey run.

"They should do what's best for Bermuda,'' he said. "Two smaller ships in competition is the best for everybody.'' Mr. William Brewer.