SHIPBUILDING IN AUSTRALIA

Press, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23315, 29 April 1941, Page 10

SHIPBUILDING IN AUSTRALIA

— ♦ — PLAN FOR STANDARD VESSEL

(F.0.0.C.) SYDNEY, April 24. The Federal Government has promised that merchant shipbuilding in Australia will begin shortly. The first keel of a prototype standard vessel of 9000 tons is expected to be laid within a few weeks. A Sydney shipyard is favoured by experts for the construction of the first vessel, the design of which will be a modification of the existing standard merchant ship design accepted by Great Britain and the United States. It will be completed within 10 months or a year from the laying down of the keel. New plans have been received from England and the necessary rearrangement of design has entailed a considerable amount of work on the part of Australian drafting and designing staffs.

The Shipping Board which took over data previously prepared concerning types of vessels that could be built at various "yards has inspected dockyard facilities in several states and considered proposals put before it by shipbuilding interests. The Federal Government has allotted £6,000,000 to enable the board to make arrangements, or enter into agreements for the building of merchant ships. It is also empowered to secure the supply of engines, boilers and other equipment. It must report from time to time to the Minister on the capacity of Australian industry to build merchant ships and on the equipment requited. The proposal to lay down the keel of a prototype ship now indicates that the Government does not intend to delay the launching of a merchant shipbuilding programme until the present extensive naval shipbuilding programme is completed. The largest item in the naval programme is the construction of 48 patrol ships for escort and anti-submarine work. It is expected that these will all be completed at the end of this year, and that many will be in commission before then. Some already have been launched. The urgency for pushing on with the merchant ships programme, which many consider could have been started over a year ago, was emphasised by Mr A. W. Cole, a member of Parliament who returned from Great Britain where he investigated shipping, petrol and air raid precaution problems. “Australia must build freighters as fast as , she can,’’ said Mr Cole. “Shipping is the big weakness in the Empire set-up.” No reason existed why Australia copld not bp geared up to turnout '300,000' tons 61 shipping a year.™ A standard type of freighter, of about 10,000 tons, was wanted, he added.