Record Tonnage On Lloyd’s Register

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 31987, 14 May 1969, Page 11

Record Tonnage On Lloyd’s Register

The 1968 annual report of Lloyd's Register of Shipping shows that tonnage for nhich plans were approved last year was the second highest in the society’s history. At 6,386,220 tons gross it was only 80,000 tons short of the record reached in 1956. More than 4m tons gross of shipping was completed to class, bringing the total classed with Lloyd’s Register by June 1968 to more than 66m tons gross, the highest ever recorded. A feature of the year was the large number of tankers of 200,000 tons deadweight and upwards which came into service. The growth in sjze of tankers and bulk carriers has not been without problems but the report notes that there has not been any major damage due to structural weakness in ships of this type classed with Lloyd’s Register. During the year the society made a structural study of three oil tanker sizes (193,000, 348,000 and 574,000 tons deadweight) for an international oil company and examined several projects for ore carriers up to 150,000 tons deadweight. Container Ships

The container revolution continues and at the end ef 1968 there were 47 container ships on order or under construction to the society's class. In addition, under the freight container certification scheme, the society dealt with over 50 proposals for type approval of general purpose and insulated containers. By the end of 1968, 9000 approved containers were being built in the United Kingdom and in Europe and 10,000 more were due to be constructed when prototypes were approved. The society’s surveyors were also involved in the inspection of refrigerating plant for container terminals at Tilbury and Melbourne. Research Projects Research has been carried out in many fields, including the strength of wash bulkheads on tankers, ship motion and !ea keeping, stern bearings and medium speed diesel engines. A research project aimed at producing a more precise method for the assessment of the longitudinal strength of ships is now nearing completion and considerable progress was made In the. development of techniques for the analysis of transverse structural arrangements of large tankers and bulk carriers. More than 125 major metallurgical investigations were completed At the society’s research laboratory and about it third of' these were in connection with problems in land installations. Tests have also been carried out On models of several ship Structures. On the marine engine side the report contains a review of the propulsive systems used in ships completed to Lloyd’s Register class through, out the world from 1964 to 1967. This indicates that in each of these years more new ships were powered by oil (engines than were driven by steam turbines, except in the case of higher powered ships. Of the ships now coming along, steam installations will take the larger share in vessels over 90,000 tons. Among ell engines, it appears that the geared oil engine has extended the power range over which it competes with the direct drive engine but that Its over-all use in all

new motorships completed to class has remained fairly constant over recent years. There has been a remarkable increase in the number of ships fitted with control systems, particularly those which allow the ship to be operated with machinery spaces unattended during certain hours. Last year the society’s rules were amended and the notation “U.M.S.” (Unattended Machinery Spaces) was approved together with a list of basic safety requirements to be fulfilled before the U.M.S. notation w?s granted.

In line with the increase of work in connection with nonmarine projects the department dealing with this class of business was designated Lloyd’s Register Industrial Services, a title more in keeping with work which involves oil and chemical plant, nuclear and conventional power stations and general engineering projects. Work for the gas industry increased to such' an extent that it now merits a separate section in the report.