SHIP OF THE FUTURE IS SAILING NOW

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29270, 30 July 1960, Page 10

SHIP OF THE FUTURE IS SAILING NOW

United States’ Nuclear Showboat

(By JAMES GIBBONS, for Associated Newspapers Feature Service) NEW YORK, July 25. THE world’s most pampered pioneers are cruising in unpublicised trials about the coast of America in a sleek white ship.

She-is the N.S. (for nuclear ship) Savannah, of 21,840 tons, the first atomic-powered cargo and passenger vessel.

And the 169 people aboard her—lo 9 crew. 60 passengers—are being protected from everything from radiation poisoning to sea-sickness and sleplessness.

The £2O million Savannah is nearly half-way through six months’ trials designed to prove she is safer and more comfortable than a conventional ship. She will be used on an "atoms for peace” mission to show what can be done for the future of world commerce and passenger transport on the high seas—which is why she has been designed for such lavish comfort. “The biggest fear about atomic liners has been that of radiation poisoning.” a spokesman of the United States Atomic Energy Commission, which shared in the project with the Maritime Administration of the Department of Commerce, said this week. “But our precautions have been such that a passenger could sit for a year in the hottest part of the ship open to him—in the ship’s cargo hold directly in front of the reactor—and get no more radiation than from the luminous dial on his wrist watch.” Details Secret Many details of the ship remain secret, but it is known that the reactor is shielded by a 26ft cylinder which absorbs the radiation. In fact, it is claimed that passengers need have no qualms of any sort. Sea-sickness? Some of the present “guihea-pig” passengers—nearly all of them nuclear scientists —were chosen because of

their specially weak stomachs. But in three months, thanks to the highly developed stabilisers, not one case of sea-sickness has been reported. The passengers have 30 airconditioned state-rooms. At each bedside is a' panel of buttons, at first glance as formidable as the complex instruments on the bridge. One button plays a record of falling rain for those passengers who are unable to sleep. So lulling is the sound, the people who planned the amenities of the Savannah say that within 30 minutes the record is automatically switched off on the assumption that the passenger is asleep. Another button will produce a microphone, from a concealed section in the wall, for passengers who want to write letters. The microphone is connected to a recorder in the ship’s office. A few minutes after dictation the

(letters, neatly typed, are brought to the cabin. A third button activates a sunray lamp in the roof; and, for those who are fond of parties, there’s a button "which sets in motion a hidden suction device ; which promptly swooshes up the odour of stale cigarette smoke, or if you’ve been up on deck, wet clothes.” The ship also has a glass swimming pool and “the most modern bar afloat.” But in spite of this emphasis on luxury it is most unlikely that commercial passengers will ever sail on the Savannah. She is America's “show-boat,” designed to dramatise the peaceful uses of atomic energy. Late this year or early next year she is expected to start a series of round-the-world trips with her passenger list of scientists. When she arrives at Sydney—a several weeks’ tour of Australia is hoped for, although details have not been worked out so far—sightseers will be able to stand on a glass-walled air-condi-tioned gallery and view the engine room. A TV camera will send back pictures of the inner workings of the atomic generator. Meanwhile, officials of the Atomic Energy Commission are working on a public relations programme designed to prove that the Savannah will not be a sinister presence in foreign ports. Nation's Fears A number of countries have expressed fears that the ship will constitute a hazard, and some have stated flatly that she will not be admitted before the United States has supplied full details about her. Fears increased recently when a committee of the United States National Academy of Sciences warned that a serious accident in a nuclear-powered merchant ship could contaminate a large harbour with dangerous radioactivity. To this, the Atomic Energy Commission retorts that the Savannah is accident-proof. To protect the heart of the ship from possible collision damage there are thick layers of lead, wood, steel, polythene and concrete. “There is no doubt that the Savannah ushers in a new era. and some ship-building interests are not too happy about this.” an official of the United States Department of Commerce said.