FASHIONS IN TRAMPS

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 132, 30 November 1935, Page 31

FASHIONS IN TRAMPS

The typical tramp ship of pre-war days was the vessel carrying 7500 tons deadweight, says "The Shipping World." Today when an order is placed for a new cargo vessel, it is usually of 9000 tons. A ship of this size is- fashionable today. That she is also a highlyeconomical and efficient instrument of transport is not to be denied. The reason why the 9000-tonner is so popular is that it is possible to embody in the design of her hull refinements which add to her efficiency and to install the most economical power to give her a good speed on service. These big cargo carriers are not, however, suitable for ail trades, and there is still a large field open to the smaller ships, vessels, say, with a deadweight carrying capacity of i 5000 tons. A consideration of the existing cargo vessels of between 3000 and 4000 tons gross which are owned by the twelve principal maritime Powers shows that comparatively few of these have been built in recent years —actually only 25 since 1930. It is probable that when trade begins to revive there will be a demand for handy tonnage of this size and it looks even now as if the supply would not be there to meet it. Of the existing ships, two out of three are 15 years old or over. The North-East Coast in the days before the war made a specialty of building these useful ships. It would not be at all surprising if before long there was a revival in the demand for such ships to the advantage of the Nprth-East Coast. ''