Ships and the Sea

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 39, 14 August 1926, Page 28

Ships and the Sea

Dangerous Cargoes. The ofiicial report of the Court of Inquiry into the loss of tho steamer Sutton with all hands off the Welsh coast in November last, says a recent edition of "The Shipping World," is naturally inconclusive, seeing that no direct evidence was availaijlc as to the circumstances of the disaster. But certain remarks in thrf report with regard to tho stowage of her cargo are of interest.' Part of tho cargo consisted of ■/Ana concentrates, and it is significant t recall that the Trevessa, which becamo famous through tho heroism of Her

shipwrecked crew, was also loaded with this commodity. Zinc concentrates are produced by two different processes— tho "jigger" process and tho "flotation" process. In tho "jigger" process the ore is ground, then passed with water through jiggers or sieves. The concentrate thus produced consists largely of coarse grains measuring from 2 to 3* millimetres from which the water readily drains. In the "flotation" process the ore is ground into a fine powder and is mixed with water and a small quantity of oil. The concentrate produced by this process results in a slime from which the water will not readily escape. Upon agitation the solid matter sinks and tho moisture appears upon tho surface. Thus, when loaded in a cart, tho material falls in the shapo of a cono and so remains while the"cart is at rest, but on a very short journey, owing to tho agitation it receives, the load flattens out, tho surface becomes wet and sloppy, and tho heavy ore matter sinks to the bottom. In tho case of the Trevessa, the Court of Inquiry found that the cargo was placed in such a manner that water entering the hold could not escape to the bilges, so that each compartment became watertight and the pumps wero ineffective. Tho Oourt which inquired into the loss of the Sutton heard evidence of tho recent experience of two other ships also loaded with zinc concentrates. In both cases a list had occurred soon after the vessel left port. In both cases it appeared that water had gathered ou the top of the slimy mass and measures had to be taken to remove tho water and rearrange tho cargo. In view of this evidence the Court was of opinion that the motion of the Sutton caused her cargo to shift, so that she soon became unmanageable. Confining its recommendations to the case of small vessels —the Sutton was of only 485 tons gross—the Court concludes that flotation concentrates containing as much as 8 per cent, of moisture are dangerous cargo, and suggests that investigation should be made as to the maximum percentage of moisture iwhich would be considered safe to take on board a ship. Norwegian Motor Tonnage. The Norwegian mercantile steamer and motor ship fleet is the biggest in the world in proportion to the population of the country, says the "Motor Ship," and it is probable that tho motor tonnage is a larger percentage of tho whole than is the case in any other country. Lately, the Norwegian owners have paid a considerable amount of attention to tankers, and a substantial number has been built and ordered, mostly with the object of chartering to the oil companies. In pras- 1 tically every instance they are propelled by Diesel motors. Included in the more recent contracts are 10,500-ton vessels to bo constructed in France, two more.of equal tonnage building in Germany, whilst a tanker on the stocks on ■the-Clyde to tho builders' account has been acquired by Bergen owners, and 'three or four large British-built ta'ukors have been delivered to Norwegian firms during the course of the pa^t few months. It is a significant fact that ■practically all the motor tankers now :being constructed throughout, tho , world) except those for Norwegian ownership, are for the large oil icompaiiies or their subsidiaries. On tho other hand, as remarked above, the Norwegian ships are chartered on completion, in some instances for periods as long ,as ten years. It would seem that Norwegian firms arc directing their wellknown capacity for the economic operation of cargo ships to motor tankers, and from all indications it appears probable that further orders will be placed. A Motor Yacht on Order. The Duke of Westminster has ordered a large motor yacht;'lt is being built at Leghorn, and is to be about 2000 tons, the length being 55 metres, or 180 ft, tho beam 11.6 metres, or 38ft, the height 6 meters, or 19ft Bin, and the draught 5.2 metres, or 17ft. It will bo propelled by two Viekers-Petter engines, whilst the electric power will be* supplied from oil engines coupled to generators of 160 kw. The refrigerating plant, ventilators, and other auxiliaries on deck, as well as in the engine-room, are electrically driven. The vessel has four masts and is schooner rigged, with a sail area of 1300 sq. metres. Two motor-boats will be carried in addition to two lifeboats. The owner's rooms will Be arranged in the poop, and there will be accommodation for twenty guests. The crew will toal about 60, and will mostly be housed In the forecastle. The galleys are to be electrically heated. Large Motor Tanker Fleets. The growth of the motor tanker fleet of tho Standard Oil Co. ainco 1923 has been of outstanding interest. At the present moment these owners, or their associates, have in service 17 motor ves.scls, with a total deadweight capacity of about 193,000 tons, in addition to which four more ships of 51,600 tons deadweight are under construction, whilst four steamers of 57,400 tons are being converted. When the whole of the work is completed—presumably, by the ond of this year—the fleet will

I comprise 25 motor tankers of 302,000 tons deadweight, and will thus bo easily the largest motor fleet in the world. All of these vessels, with the exception of two, have been constructed since 1923, and have boon placed in service within the past two years or so, during which time no steamers have been built. Three tankers with steam machinery have been converted and four more are undergoing the process. The total tonnage of the Standard Oil Co.'s fleet, including that of its associates, is now between 600,000 and 700,000 tons deadweight, and is the largest tanker tonnago under common ownership, followed by that of Die Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Co., whose fleet includes vessels of between 550,000 and 600,000 tons deadweight,'to be augmented within the course of the next year by motor tankers of nearly 150,000 tons deadweight, in addition to a few small steamers. Bearing in mind^thc recent orders of the British Tanker Co. and other concerns, mostly for oil-onghiod craft, it will bo gathered that the tanker tonnage of the world is in process of rapid growth. In 3011 the world's tanker tonnage amounted to about three-quar-ters of a million tons gross and at the present time it is about 5^ million tons gross, whilst it is estimated that by 1930 the figure will have risen to over 7,000,000 tons gross, in order to cope with the requirements of the transport of oil throughout the world. If this estimate is correct, based as it is upon the maintenance of the present proportion or tanker tonnage to probable world's oil production, there is certainly not a surplus of oil-carrying craft now under construction. Dockyard White Eelphant. The. Government of the Irish Free State evidently found Haulbowline Dockyard something of a white elephant. They offered recently to give it rent free to any company who would work it, but there were no applications, and efforts are now being made to have it utilised as a repairing yard. The World's Oil Supply. Sornotimes it is said that the increasing employment of the motor ship may lead to a shortage of fuel. It has been pointed out that the amount of oil being used as bunkers is decreasing in spite of the larger number of. motor ships, for the reason that oil-fired steamers are being displaced. It is also satisfactory to learn that the vast amount of fuel oil used in America on locomotives shows some slight diminution— namely, from 61,750,000 barrels iv 1924 to just over 59,000,000 "barrels in. 1925. As it is, the amount utilised wastefullyfor this purpose is approximately six times as much as all the oil required in order, to run every motor ship now in sorvice. If the construction of oilcugined vessels, continues at the same rate as at the present time, it would take another nine years oeforo the quantity of fuel utilised for running them was equivalent to the presentday figure for operating American locomotives, states an English shipping magazine, and it need hardly be" said that' as motor vessels increase oil-fired, steamers will tend to decrease very rapidly, ao that it is extremely doubtful whether there will be any greater demand for oil for bunkers than at the present time. It is probable that the reduction noted in the past year or two will bo continued, and that tho further evolution of the motor-ship will conserve ,the oil resources of the world rather than, absorb them. Death Bates Among Sailors. A sailor's life was ever a hazardous one, but is less so nowadays than formerly, says an exchange. The voluminous and detailed report on the health of the British Navy for 1923 shows that the death rate per thousand from all causes was 2,17, and from diseases alone 1.40 per thousand. These are less than in any year on. record. In 1856 the seamen who died represented 15.5 of the total. In 1875 the ratio was 8.8, in 1895 6.6, and in 1905 only 3.9. In 1915, a war year, it went up, of course —to 22.05 per thousand—but by 1922 was down again to 3.44. There were 863 cases of iufluenza in the Navy during 1923, but only two proved fatal.