Ships and the Sea

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 10, 12 January 1929, Page 28

Ships and the Sea

Atlantic Passenger Trade. The immediate- future of the North : 'American passenger trade provides an interesting theme for speculation at tho •■present' timo, ;< writes "Syren and Ship- , ping,' ' . - rMorc than 20 years ago the ■ Cunard 'Company, with, the Lusitania ■arid JVtauretania,, wrested the blue rib■«nd of the 'Atlantic from Germany in the mattor of, both speed and size of the vessels engaged in that trade. From the time, 30 years before, when the . Alaska' won for the old Guion Line . the name of the "greyhound of the At- ■ 3anUe" tho rivalry of owning the fastest steamer had been carried on practically.by British owners. Travellers'of -the-Victorian age—the times seem far , off "now, so rapidly have we moved; in ,the, pvegent century—i-ecall the pride that was, felt in>.Buch steamers as the \City of Home, the Teutonic, and Majestic, Campania, Lucania, and others, each in. its turn with a reputation which it .lad deservedly earned. Then the Germans, who had quietly and doggedly teen.working to achieve a position of 'eminence in shipping, as in every other .liranch of trade, laid themselves out to , become-..the owners of the largest and i'the fleetest vessels.', .•'When the Olympic and subsequently the Britannic came out, the limit of size had been reached, .said many. In the course of the war the Luaitania ■ was scut to the bottom, but her .sister-shig. was left behind still .in the proud possession of the iccordfor the fastest passage ever made between this country and the-United States. ,By tho terms ■ of-the Treaty of Peace the German linerßismarclc, nowthe Majestic, and the largest merchant ship afloat, ■was. handed over to Britain, but her original owners were not the people to sit still and fold' their hands. '' Under the bludgeonings of chance" they may ,bow.-'their heads, for a-time,, but they soon.lift them up again and look around to see. how soon and in what manner .they may >^t about repairing .the raytges and toll.of war. Ten years is but

Anti-Rolling Devices. At a recent meeting of the British section of the Societc dcs Ingenicurs Civil de France, Mr. E. J. Fieux, the consulting engineer to the Schneider Works, gave an interesting account of the design and workshop tests of the Schneider-Fieux .anti-rolling gear which is controlled by twin gyroscopes, writes the "Shipping World." In the gear described . the two' gyroscopes, which precesa in opposite directions, are arranged in casings which are ' geared together and are mounted in trunnions. The precession of the gyroscope rotors, which take place about the trunnijn axes, is arranged in a plane perpendicular to ' the water 'plane and parallel to the length of the ship. The lower trunnion of each gyroscope is extended and passes downwards into a closed tank carrying paddles which revolve in a mixture of oil and water, and form a hydraulic brake! The braking effect can be controlled by a hand-wheel outside the tank. In the. course of the paper full account was given of the tests made with this gear, both in the shops and at sea, and a film was shown illustrating the stabilising effect: of the gear on a small French naval vessel. It was stated that an apparatus of the type described could easily be fitted in a cross-channel steamer of about . 2500 tons, and that its weight would not exceed about 2A per cent, of the total tonnage. . Although. anti-rolling, devices have been fitted to British naval vessels, so far as is known, they have not yet been applied in commercial ships. Considerable progress has been madoin America with stabilisers built according to the Sparry gyroscope system, which differs- from that above described, in that a small gyroscope is utilised to pick up the rolling movement and start up the preeessiug motor, so producing the counter force. 'German shipbuilders have proceeded:-'on. a different principle, and the Fram system of stabilising tanks has been applied with success to several of the newer Hamburg-

'A..-'CLIPPER. AS A\ CLUBHOUSE

* short space of time in the history of a nation, and even before that period jbad elapsed wo..know something of the result of»that, haTd thinking which has ■beeivin.Miged'iii.by Germans since,they in^i£upt|jl/by ;a;f oblish.i-'esort.' to; .'arms thei|ptiiim|hal prpgress^ow'a'rcls; eniiii|nc6;!>iii-' Icommerce '.which; seemed: in iOlivtb/be' '.almost within'their grasp. IForlthe- Bremen and Europa, approaching in German yards, they elaitifthat they will be more luxurious and; fastpr than, anything now afloat, though as regards their speed we shall not hav,e;;accurate knowledge until they have run; their'trial trips.' The company ■which has thus thrown down the gauntlet is, tne Norddeutscher Lloyd, \and its action has given all others interested in the -transatlantic passenger traffic furiously, to : think. It is certainly a bold move, but whether it will be a financially; successful one is a point on which there' may legitimately be a difference of opinion. ' ■ '■'.._ '■ .' . Masters\ and Mates' Examinations. Considerable changes in the syllabuses 1 of' examination are recommended in the report of tile Departmental Committee of the examination of Masters and-Mates, writes the "Syren and Shipping,.'' but,.it is pointed out, these "are: not so great as they appear at first; sight, for the main difference be-, tween the old and the new syllabuses concerns" arrangement" much' more than actual.. epnt.ent. Nor- are. the demands on- candidates ..materially "increased when the i programme is; considered as a whole.'''.The endeavour has , been throughout to .make the tests a more, faithful; representation of conditions at sea, i';'so'that', candidates.'-preparing, for the may be encouraged to 1 depend on their actual experience rather than I on mere ; theoretical knowledge derived- .from the text-books . ... In the ■ navigation; papers, -in particular, candidates should be allowed to arrive at their/results.by any.method they use at sea.' 3, An attempt has been made tp remedy what the Committee consider to be a serious defect in the,existing syllabuses by presenting the matter in much-greater detail: "The present regulations,-'.''-states the" report,, "are particularly vague as.to the amount of knowledge required -of candidates in Bueh.i subjects as stability, .ship ..con-, struction. and. ship's business, and the examiner's powor to ask any other •questions about-the duties of an officer which ho may;think necessary seems to lis to give.him unnecessary latitude. "The Committee were, convinced from Hie evidence; submitted to .them-.that, this Jack of .precise, requirements had proved a dqfinite.-.hardship to candidates, while it, had .of necessity "sti-eiiigtliciied the hands of. the crammers, at tlio expense of 1 sound educational' requirements. . . Our; aim lias been so to tie-' sigii.tlio syllabuses that candidates shall be-.led ito work, intelligently and not. bs. machines." The passing of tlie Bailing-ship is ■■ reflected in. the rccommendutipn that only one kind of certificate should be Issued, valid for use on I my mechanically propelled .vessel. .Can-.! did'a'tes 'wishing to secure a sailing-ship qualification,■ it' is suggested, should be enaWed to obtain an .endorsement to thafe.-.effect. ■ . ■■ . . Australasian-Liverpool Shipments. Rpgrdf ivas expressed with .regard to the failure of' direct shipments )jctween Australia, New Zealand, and Liverpool at.a.recent meeting of the Council of. the"'t/iverpool Chamber of Cdinir-'rce, leports^the .'.'SJiippiiiir World." -Mr. .Il. : V. Edwards, chairman of the Ti'mi.-sjipi-t Cpmiiiittce, said then; was not much lope,;of. direct shipments to Liverpool. "J h'avo nttendc'd.the various meetings of! tlie United Trades Association' which h.?!d.;!tho : matter under, discussion," ho ridded, "and it was revealed-that the trircc steamers which' ' recently made .voyages'did. not warrant the owners conitinuing the service. They arc, however, waking'experiments at tlui ni'ouicnt in a direct service,to Hull and London."

Amerika liners, in which slight bulges on the hull have been made to serve as stabilising tanks. Timely! Aid.";'-" ■'.■■-."-■..; ~^.V-"',] '- -.' '. "] The;impefial'Mer.o.hai|t' Service Guild desorvesr'cre.dit'-for.-iJie'prtoipt und:' efficient irieasuros*which;":it:. takes to" protect the interests of the officers of the merchant service, writes the "Shipping World." Kecent incidents have suggested that moving about the world as they do, they stand .in need, more -to-day, possibly, than-iii the past, of a powerful organisation which' can approach the Foreign .Office, 0r,,, if. ■necessary, enlist' the assistance; of .Parliament. Tho watchfulness of this organisation was illustrated when two officers of the P. .and 0. steamship Macedonia were arrested by' Japanese authorities at Shinonoseki on the charge of taking photographs in a fortified, area. Not only was.the' assistance of Lord Mus■kerry and Sir John Sandeman Allen, M.P., ■ enlisted iji order. to t obtain Foreign Office.intervention, but Mr. T./.W. Moore, the secretary of the guild, sent at once threo.,cables to Japan,.one to Lloyd's agents, another, to the guild's lawyers, and a third to the Japanese Officers', Society. The result was that tiie , Japanese department which had been responsible for the arrest of these officers realised that it had raised a storm, and, as has 'already been announced, orders were forthwith' given for the' officers to;be "immediately released, the - authorities : being •sn tislicd that- their' action was due to ignorance, of the regulations prohibiting-tho taking of photographs. ... .. .. The Passing of Shipyards. '■■•■"■ ;: Among, the,- ".For,Sale'.' aiinouneoments: in November, there'were two of. somewhat Apathetic .interest in, Scottioli shipbuilding circles, states the. "Syren and Shipping.'.' One.'was the offer ■ for. sale, by ■ private..'.bargain of the goodwill, ground, buildings, and plant of ':the Clyde.Shipbuilding and T3ngiiieering Company,;, Port Glasgow. The ground extends- to about' 9: acres'; there are, three building berths, two of which-are capable of taking vessels up to 390 ft' in length".and. the third up tb 230 ft. ••There.is a-basin suitable for. ships. 3Soft in length and a slip capable, of dealing with .vessels of 1200.,'tp'iis light displacement. : The/second- announcement offered for. sale the bbilermaking works, in. Gov'aii formerly', occupied by the Forth! Shipbuilding and Engineering .' Company, of Ailoa. This coinpuny made n. great slai);. in 191 G." They laid out a yard having 3 7 building berths,'f.ciur. of. tlicin suitablo for vessels of 14,000 tons; and Alloa seemed likely to 'beeoiue one of the great shipbuilding areas of the,. United Kingdom. In ,a few ycsirs .the crash came and the whole buLiiK'ssj, including the two small yards, which h;id been swallowed up, .was'"wiped oul.of existence. The boiler-shops in Govan— most inconveniently situated for Alloa; —have remained to, tins day as.a.rcninant of so)netliing which'was to have been great.: . Tho story of Alloa shipbuilding is one-of the industrial tragedies of modern times. . - • ' A Lifeboat Problem. "There is one point '-which the Vestris disaster emphasises once again," says "Syren and Shipping" "and that ia the old problem of launching ships' boats 'when a vessel has a, heavy listMuch human ingenuity has been expended upon endeavouring to solve it, and we should not like to say how many patentsl have been taken out in this connection.' "The'fact remains that with a big -vbss'el-oii- her" beam, ends the successful -'lowering of - half her complement of lifeboats is, and must in.eyitably be,.next to.a.physical inipossi-. bility, particularly when accompanied by heavy weather. The, danger of the boats being dashed against the ship's side is obvious, and that is'probably what happened in "tiki 'case--'-' of -"'■ the Vcstris.., 'I'hat this, accounts for the sinking of a number of them is almost certain, ..."