A WONDER SHIP

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 194, 18 May 1928, Page 8

A WONDER SHIP

LAST WORD IN CARGO-

CARRIERS

OIL AND ELECTRICITY ONLY

“Wonder ship” is a term that can fittingly he used to describe the Shaw.. Savill. and Albion Company’s new mo-tor-liner Zealandie, wliich arrived at Wellington yesterday morning in the course o£ her maiden voyage from England. This ship, which can only be described adequately in superlatives, epitomises the progress' of her owners through nearly three-quarters of a century in the London-New Zealand trade, and embodies the very latest practice in the art of shipbuilding. It is drawing no invidious comparison to say that the Zealandie is the finest cargo ship that has ever visited Wellington. A general description of the shiji has already been printed in the “Dominion,” but there are many features worthy of particular mention. When she left Englund at the end of March, the Zealamlic was the high-est-powered motor cargo ship afloat, a distinction she must now share with her three sister-ships Taranaki, Coptic, and Karamea. Although she lias not yet been “opened out,” the Zealandie is fuly expected to prove herself one of the fastest ships in the. New Zealand trade. When fully loaded and at full power she is capable of averaging 15 knots on a daily fuel consumption of about 35 tons of oil for ail purposes. A Great Cargo Carrier. The Zealandie has a huge carrying capacity in her six holds. The insulated cargo space is 494,006 cubic feet, the equivalent of 1311,000 freight carcases of mutton, and her general cargo space can stow tiie equivalent of 13,000 bales of wool. The six hatches are served by twenty electric winches and a very complete installation of 7-ton and 10-ton cargo derricks. Special attention has been paid to the refrigerating plant, and the' ship is insulated for the carriage of frozen meat aud butter and of cheese and fruit at the temperatures best suited for the transport of those commodities. The refrigerating machinery is of the very latest type and comprises two CO2 machines, each having a pair of compressors driven by a variable speed electric motor of 140 horsepower. .. z Oil and Electricity. The propelling machinery consists of two six-cylinder Diesel engines of the Wallsend-Sulaer single-acting, twostroke type, each designed to develop 3725 brake horse-power at a speed of 115 revolutions per minute. The cylinders arc 31 inches in diameter and the piston stroke is 43 inches. For the supply of the large amount of electric power needed in the Zealandie there are in the main engine room four four-cycle single-acting Diesel engines each of 400 brake horse power, running at 300 revolutions per minute and coupled to dynamos of 275 kw. Each engine has six cylinders of 13} inches bore with a piston stroke of 18} inches. The electric current generated is sufficient to supply the power and lighting needs of a fairsized town. The whole of the auxilaries—winches, capstans, windlasses,’ fuel pumps, water pumps, refrigerators, air compressors—are electrically ilriven, and the ship is steered by electricity, and heated by electricity. Steam Is il very minor quantity in the Zealandie. There are two small boilers in the main engine room, one of which is used for heating the fuel oil, and the other—a “silencer boiler” —is heated by the exhaust gases from the four auxiliary Diesel engines, the steam being used for cooking and other water-heating purposes. The Zealaiidic may be described as tin all oilelectric ship. The Zealandie is a remarkably handsome vessel, her under-water lines being very line. She is just six inches short of 500 feet in length over all, with a breadth of 64 feet and a deptli from main deck of 42 feet 101 inches. A striking feature of the ship is her huge squat elliptical funnel, • which measures 21 feet (fore and aft) by 13 feet in width. It is used to house the silencers of the main engines, and the exhaust fi;om them and the auxiliary Diesels. Tile Zealandie carries a crew of 67. including ten engineers, three electricians, and two refrigerating engineers. The living quarters in the ship are especially good, those of the commander being beautifully panelled and furnished. There are four state rooms for passengers, each with two berths and a dining saloon, and smokeroom on the bridge deck. Captain J. H. Gaskell, formerly of the Maimon, is in command of the Zealandie, and he is immensely proud of her. as are all the ship’s company. The Zealandie will leave XXellington to-inorrow afternoon for Auckland, whence she sails on May 24 for London.