Ships and the Sea

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 33, 8 February 1930, Page 30

Ships and the Sea

The Navy and Coal. Since the'first experiments with pulverised coal wore carried out, representatives of the Admiralty ■ have expressed, their'!.interest; in the movement on several occasions, but the. interest has never " taken a- practical form, writes "Shipping' World." Tito Royal Navy is'now,, so far as its fighting ships aro concerned, on an oil fuel basis, and this change from the former conditions has been a serious blow to the coal industry, and.especially,to the Welsh coal mines. It is now conceded that though liquid fuel has many strategical and tactical advantafes over solid fuel, the promise of practicable methods of using powdered coal ope. s up new possibilities, , First among theso is the security of supplies in time of war, and then comes the benefit which tho mining industry, would derive from a return to coal. There was a time when the Admiralty was one i of the best customers

of the Welsh mining industry. The greater use ofcral, in the Navy appeals to the Cabinet'as an aid in solving the industrial problems, besides offering hopes of assistance in readjusting the balance of tradeand setting free a considerable sum of money which is represented in the very large reserves of oil fuel which have to be maintained. GrovHJi of ; American Shipping. According to the chairman of the United StateV Shipping Board, at pre: sent the ocean-going American merchant fleet employed in established lines in foreign and non-contiguous trades consists of 671 vessels of over 3,855,000 gross tons, writes the "Shipping World."- This shows a 50Q per cent, increase in numbers and nearly 550 per cent, in tonnage.since 1914. With few 'exceptions these vessels are of 2000 gross tons and over and 60' pot cent, of the number. and 65 per cent, of the gross tonnage are now under private

ownership. The enormous tonnage udder tho jurisdiction Of the United States.Shipping Board at the peak of its activities has' been reduced to the presenfcstotal of less than 2,900,000 tons, Or about'soo; ships: still remaining under coitrol of the board/of wltieh.224 vessels 'of l;300;b00- tons are .in active service. ."..:' *"v\i i ,'•.".. '■■.-■.'■■ Catering: for Tourists. - ' ;,. ;. The leading shipping companies have been 'most successful, in organising ocean cruises, -writes the "Shipping *T.hey;have not, as a rule, made large'profits, but they have kept their ships incommission. The adventure has proved worth while. The day as coming when men and women of modest means will 'increasingly take a sea trip, thus obtaining the ideal holiday—plenty of ozone, change of scene and, as. a rule, pleasant;, companionship. The seagoing .tourist :isi 'worth cultivating and tho tourist third-class ship is evidently* ship with a promising future. The Canadians; are, in particular, impressed by thfei advantages to be secured by encouraging 'z this class of traffic across the "Atlantic. As a Montreal contemporary Recently remarked, the standard of comfort attained is sufficiently high; to attract many people of moderate means, who would refrain from travelling in the so-called third class, but do not . think twice about crossing the . Atlantic in the tourist thirds cabin. , It. is now known that several steamship companies contemplate transforming certain of their ships for,the exclusive carriage of tourists. ' ,-. '.;. ..' .".." ', '. .' ,: • ; ■ Shipwrecked Seamen's Wages. A case of considerable Interest to both seafarers and shipowners was dcV cided recently in the Admiralty Court by Lord'Merrivale (reports the "Syren and Shipping"). This was in the nature of a test action brought by John Murray, 'quartermoster in the Ellerman Line steamer Croxteth Hall, and Joseph Comerford, greaser in the White Star liner Celtic, claiming two months' wages and the subsistence allowances they would have been entitled to had they ' been employed standing by their ships When in port. Both vessels were wrecked before completing the voyages for which the men had signed on, and the question raised was whether under section 1 of the Merchant- Shipping (International Labour Conventions) Act, 1925,. merchant seamen are to be paid wages for a period of. two months if their ordinary term of employment is prematurely terminated by. the wreck of the ship. His Lordship, in giving judgment in both case's in favour of the plaintiffs on the wages claims alone, with costs, Baid that the true meaning, of the section of the Act was apparent if there was read into it after the word "unemployed" the words "before the date contemplated in the agreement." On the application of defendants' counsel, a stay of fourteen days was granted, with leave to appeal,

C.P.K. Enterprise. Important thotigh the Empress of Japan is as a liner,development, writes the "Syren and Shipping" in connection with the building programme of the Canadian Pacific line, she takes second place, even now, o the. Empress of Britain, which is to bo launched this year by Messrs. John Brown and Co., of Clydebank. This vessel is still something of a mystery ship, but this much is certain, that she will set up several new records. She will be of 42,000 tons gross, and so will be the second largest vessel built on tho Clyde, coming, 'n that particular respect, after the Cuiard liner Aquitania, of 45,647 tons, which was built at the same yard in 1914. The new Empi-ess will represent the high-pressure water-tube-boiler geared-turbine type of propuling machinery-carried to its highest pitch of perfection, and will demonstrate more effectively, 'if that were possible, than has ever been done in the past her. owners' faith in that method of propulsion. Pulverised Coal for Tugs. 1 French.tug has undergone successful trials with powdered coal. She is one of the shallow-draught boats which operate on the Rhine, anu is owned_ by the Compagnie, Generale de Navigation dv Ehin. She has a. triple expansion reciprocating engine of 1300-h.p. and two boilers, fitted with. Stein-Wood Woodeson plants and Woodeson burners. On the first voyage with the new system, and using coal not of high grade, an entirely satisfactory result was obtained. The voyage was from Rotterdam to: Strasbourg. Training in Sail. It is a sad.thought that a British boy who wishes to make the sea his career has no chance to learn the rudimentsof the profession on board a big sailing ship, writes the "Syren and Shipping." Lads in other countries—even in Spain and Greece —are better off in this respect, for elsewhere the value of training in sail ,is recognised. With tho loss of the Garthpool the last deep-sea windjammer disappeared from the British register. In connection with the matter, Sir William Garthwaite, Bart., who has done . much to . preserve the sailing-ship tradition, has written to the "Syren and Shipping^ suggesting that the time has arrived when a square-rigged sailing ship for training purposes should be constructed. This ship, he writes, would be equipped specially for carrying a large number of cadet officers, and it should also be arranged to carry cargo, in order to cover part of her expenses. "According to estimates received recently, such a ship would cost about £40,000 t0.£50,----000, and from my experience in running the-Garthpool, and taking into account the freights received, I imagine such a ship would cost somewhere about £2500 to £3000 a year to run. It would, therefore, be necessary to give, her an endowment to produce this amount per annum, which could be done by an annuity insurance.'' Sir William Garthwaite's interesting proposal is certain to arouse much discussion among shipowners, comments the shipping journal. The value of training under sail will not be disputed. In spite of the admirable work of such institutions as the Worcester, the Conway, and the Pangbourne School, the best results can only be obtained

where a course of training is subsequently made possible in a sailing-ship under actual trading conditions. Such a venture is deserving of. the -help of the Government in the shape of a grant, because, as. a commercial venture, there is little hope. •of success owing to the scarcity of outward cargoes to Australia. There is, however, an alternative to the establishment of the proposed endowment fund. If the scheme matures, it is intended that the ship should make one voyage a year to Australia, and Sir William believes that if shipowners in tho trade are willing to arrange with shippers for certain picked cargoes to be sent, thus, ensuring a profitable voyage, the problem of making tho venture a financial, success may be overcome. We share his. view, that this would not be asking too much of shipowners—if the difficulties with the shippers can be. met —in view of the benefit that would accrue to tho Merchant Navy generally from this method of training cadets. Tor the return voyage from Australia no anxiety is likely to be experienced in filling the available space in the ship—approximately 3000 tons—with wheat. All who have at heart the welfare of the Merchant Navy and are in a position to assist should welcome the opportunity of examining the proposal and of giving it the support it deserves. Port Rivalry. / There is bound to be a good deal of disappointment when a big liner company forsakes one port, for . another (writes the "Syren and Shipping"). Plymouth is, no doubt, feeling a little sore because in this year's programme of the C.P.B. she will no longer figure in the schedule of ports of call, whereas London will come to tho fore, no doubt on account of the landing-stage at Tilbury and the new docks. Port rivalry is inevitable, but it must be remembered that there are usually circumstances which make it impossible for the steamship companies, whatever may be the individual claims of a place, to neglect other factors. The port itself, in respect of its equipment, may be all that can be desired, but now conditions make changes desirable if the convenience of passengers is to be studied. Ought Liverpool to be jealous of the rise of Southampton? The fact that a number of large liners which before the war sailed to and from Liverpool now make Southampton their terminal is no reflection on the Mersey port in regard to the facilities_ it offers. For any Liverpolitan to consider that he is called upon to answer a baseless and imaginary charge of decadence is to exhibit the "inferiority complex." The change has come about because Southampton, by way of Cherbourg, is more accessible than Liverpool from Paris, Vienna, Rome, and other Continental centres. Before the war the shipping companies seemed to say, "Let the passengers come to the ships." The post-war attitude is, "The ships must go to th* passengers,*? ,