Clang of Danish Shipbuilding Echoes Return of Prosperity

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXVII, Issue 12824, 19 August 1939, Page 6

Clang of Danish Shipbuilding Echoes Return of Prosperity

An orchestra of clanging hammers, staccato rivet drivers, and throbbing gas motors Is now playing the air of prosperity as it has rarely been heard before in Danish shipyards. ■ This year shows a substantial increase in the number of vessels on the slips in various stages of progress. In all, 57 vessels are under construction at present. Of these 25 are for .Danish owners arid 52 for/ foreign, countries. Only two of the 57‘ boats are steamships, the others being motorships—almost all with Danish motors. The ships are valued at 220,000,000 kroner (about '£lo, 000,000). The largest wharf—Messrs. Burmeister and Wain of Copenhagen—has 22 vessels under construction, two only of which are for Danish owners. . The Blue Star Line of London has three vessels on the slips for combined freight and passenger traffic, two of which are ready for delivery. The third, Columbia Star, will be ready later. Each vessel is about 10,000 tons. I

In additioji to these there arei others for Norway and France being built on thesel;wharves. All day long and often into the night there is the sound of riveting, of belts whirring, and cogs roaring from the machine shops, yet the workmen go about their work with poise and deliberation*, and no amount of work and noise seems to disturb them.