Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 1926. MOTOR SHIPS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XLVI, Issue 10705, 1 April 1926, Page 4

Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 1926. MOTOR SHIPS.

The fact that the Shaw, Savill and Albion Company has ordered two motor vessels of 2,0,000 tons, one of which at least will be engaged in the New Zealand trade, indicates the rapid advance that has .taken place in recent years in the construction of ships driven by internal combustion engines. Such engines have been well tested in the smaller vessels, but it was only on February 28 last that the first large high speed oildriven ocean liner left a British port to establish regular sailings. This was the Royal Mail Packet Company's Asturias, of 22,500 tons gross, which then set out on her maiden voyage in the South-ampton-South American service. The interesting feature about her, from a marine engineering point of view, is that she is driven by double-acting Diesels, and is the

second passenger liner to be propelled by this type of machinery, the first being the Swedish-owned Gripsholm, the hull of which was built at Newcastle, the engines having been manufactured in Denmark. The Asturias is wholly

a British production, having been built and engined at Belfast. Precisely similar installations will be fitted in her sister ship, the Aleantra, and the new Union-Castle liner, Carnarvon Castle, recently launched. These ships, will, however, be surpassed, both in dimensions and power, by 'two Italian liners^—the Saturnia and the Urania;—building at Trieste, and also intended for the South American trade. They, too, will have double-acting engines, but their gross tonnage is 23,500, and their horse-power 24,000. An even bigger motor-ship is building'in the same country, this being the quadruple screw Augustus, 33,000 tons gross and 31,000 i.h.p. How greatly the motorship is gaining favour among shipowners is indicated by the returns of Lloyd's Register for the last quarter of 1925. These

show that there were under construction in the world 18 vessels of just over 1,00,00,0 tons, which is nearly equal to the steam tonnage building. In Great Britain and Ireland the motor-ships on hand in the shipyards represented 51.6 percent, of the steamers, and

this proportion was considerably exceeded in Denmark, Germany, Holland, Itsly and Sweden. Further evidence of the tendency just noted is afforded by the returns of vessels afloat. The gross tonnage of sea-going steel and

iron steamers and motor-ships afloat amounted, in June, 1914, to 42,514,000 tons, while at June, 1925, the figures reached 58,785,000 tons—an increase of over 16 million tons. A remarkable change has taken place in the total tonnage of some types of vessels included in the above figures. Fori instance, the tankers, which in 1914 totalled 1,479,000 tons, now amount to 5,384,290 tons; and motor-ships which in 1914 only reached 234,000 tons now amount to nearly 2\ million tons including auxiliaries. A great change has also taken place in the rela-

tive use of coal and oil fuel for boilers. In 1914 the tonnage of tire steamers fitted for oil fuel was 1,31,0,000 tons, while the 1925 figures show no less than 17,804,122 tons.