SHIP TENDERS OUTSIDE U.K.

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30982, 11 February 1966, Page 1

SHIP TENDERS OUTSIDE U.K.

(Special Correspondent N.Z.P.A.) LONDON, Feb. 10. The New Zealand Shipping Company and its associaited firm, the Federal Steam Navigation Co., Ltd., may go outside Britain for new tonnage for the first time.

I This was disclosed yesterday by Mr H. T. Beazley, a managing-director of both companies, during the trials of Federal Steam’s new refrigerated cargo motorship, the Westmorland, built by Lithgow’s, Ltd., at Glasgow. He said that they had called for tenders for two ships each worth more than £2 million from British, Japan-

ese, Continental and Scandinavian shipyards and that tenders were expected in at the end of this month.

The two ships will be 12,500-tonners, of 505-foot length, 72-foot breadth and 45-foot depth. There will be 520,000 cubic feet of refrigerated cargo space, an increase of about 10 per cent over that of the Westmorland.

Mr Beazley said his companies were looking for delivery of the two ships by the end of 1967 and they were concerned that this might mean that British yards with order-books already full until that time, would be unable to meet this requirement.

He said, however, that if the tenders from both British and foreign yards were equal then the contract would be placed in Britain. Supervisory Body

If a more favourable price and a better delivery could be obtained abroad then they would look into this. One aspect of going abroad would be that they would have to establish a supervisory organisation such as they already had for ships built in Britain and the cost of such an organisation would have to be considered against any saving in the price quoted for the ships. The Westmorland will leave the Clyde this week on her maiden voyage to Australia, where she will load a cargo |of fruit for Britain.