SHIPS AND THE SEA

Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 70, 19 September 1936, Page 24

SHIPS AND THE SEA

(By "Spunyarn.")

In the development of the design of the Queen Mary's sister ship—which is now presumably • in progress— Messrs. John Brown and Co. are in an extremely favourable position, for not only are the results of the tank tests of the earlier ship's model t available, but also those of the actual ship's steaming under ordinary service conditions.. The staff at Clydebank, therefore t ■ must know exactly where they stand—which was not the case when the Queen Mary was. laid down. That the new ship will be an improvement on the earlier one goes almost' without saying, for later ships of the same class are invariably, and quite" naturally, superior to the earlier ones. Just after the launch,of a large liner at Belfast the late Lord : Pirrie was asked: "I expect.you are glad to see that one out of the way." . "I am not," was his reply. "I never see a ship launched without wishing. I had her to build over again." Most shipbuilders feel like-that when important jobs are completed; : so do many ship owners, although in their case considerations of capital cost often take the fire out of •' their enthusiasm for technical progress. . Naval , architecture . and marine engineering have certainly advanced a considerable way since the Queen Mary was laid down, and new ideas

ol.hull form and propulsion equipment have found, expression, chiefly on the Continent. The German liners Scharnhorst, Potsdam, and Gneisenau, using very high-pressure, high-temperature steam generated in oil-fired water-tube boilers of novel design, are cases in point. . The hulls of these vessels,; moreover, have underwater forms which aire calculated to reduce resistance, and their upper works are streamlined with the same object, although to nothing like the extent of the corresponding parts of the Normandie. That the new Cunard-White Star liner will have as handsome a profile as the, streamlined French ship is unlikely, but in the opinion of some good fudges the top-gallant forecastle in the Queen' Mary design might be dispensed with in so high-sided a ship. The navigating bridge at the stern, they think, should also go," as in so large a ship it is impossible to see the men there. They must be communicated with by telephone, and that being the case ,they may .be placed, with their capstan gear, at: a lower level. VALUE OF ECONOMY. These'are, of course, points of minor importance, though to give-effect to them might improve the 'projected ship's looks.. It cannot be .ignored, however, that in respect both of the under-water form of'the-hull and the lay-out and shape of the deck erections Clydebank has much more exact, knowledge than its critics have, accbrdinging to the engineering correspondent of the "Manchester Guardian." Its job is not primarily to produce a ship with a beautiful profile nor a ship capable of .putting the Atlantic speed record where nobody can hope to reach it for years, but'to give CunardWhite Star, Ltd., a , ship . which can maintain a certain service speed on a given consumption. Stated in another way, the shipbuilders', problem is to produce a vessel which will make money for her owners/arid if they can do •so at a capital cost of, say, £5,000,000, as compared with the Normandie's capital cost of, £9 000,000 or £10,000,000, they will, it will be agreed, have handsomely solved That the hull form of the new ship either above or below the water-line will be radicaUy different'from that of the Queen -Mary is unlikely. over, it is fairly safe to assume that in respect .of. the, propelling machinery there will be no radical changes. There may be improved iuel economy and higher durability, but fundamentally the installation will be the'same. It 'is improbable that the steam pressure will be appreciaby increased, as the full advantage of any change in that direction cannot be obtained without intermediate reheating of the steam—an arrangement which is generally regarded as unsuitable for use afloat. Some increase in steam temperature is, however, possible—in the light of what has been done in power stations, in the interests of economy —coupled with further refinements in feed heating, air heating, and other means of conserving heat. No doubt the question of steam generation is receiving special attention, as in the case of ships of this type plenty of boiler power is absolutely essential to success. Recently several newi types have been evolved here and on : the Continent. The Potsdam—which, like the Scharnhorst, is .a turboelectjic ship—has, for example, Benson boilers. None of. these newer types of steam generators appears, however, to have reached such a stage of development as would justify its use in an installation of this magnitude, although the idea of employing boilers of one or other of them as part of an installation is not without attraction'.

Any changes that are made in the design of the machinery of the new ship will, as a matter of course, have, for one of their an increase of fuel economy. A point to be noted in this connection is that what is called the "hotel load"—which in passenger vessels of this size' and type is not only extremely heavy but steadily increasing—may seriously affect the over-all fuel economy. What is gained on the main engine side, that is, may be eaten up by the demand for power for non-propulsion purposes. Moreover, as has been suggested, the auxiliary power requirements are steadily increasing. Before long we may hear o£ the introduction of devices for washing and cleaning the funnel gases—passengers will welcome that—and also of further mechanical provision for recondition-

BRITAIN'S LATEST GIANT

RADICAL CHANGES UNLIKELY

ing the air in the passenger accommodation. % • After, working the Queen Mary under ordinary service conditions for a whole season, the Cunard-White Star staff has, no doubt, 'decided on. some changes in the internal arrangements of the ship, That, of course, is inevitable in the case of so large a ship. What these changes will turn, out to be is not easy to foretell, but that they will affect the main idea expresses in the lay-out and execution of the Queen Mary's accommodation is improbable. JAPANESE SHIPS FAST SERVICE SPEED In view of the visit of the Canberra Maru, one of Japan's latest cargo-car-riers, to this port, it is interesting-to-read. London comment on.the position i existing, today in Japanese ship-build-ing -circles. It is stated that the Japanese .Government intends to encourage the construction of cargo-carrying vessels having a service speed of 20 knots. The'scrap and build schemes put into i operation' in recent yeairs have all enj cpuraiged the building of fast, in place iof slow, cargo vessels, but not vessels

of such speed as this. The Japanese being a practical people, it must be concluded that the fast ships already built have proved their value. In Great Bjitain the majority of shipowners have held to the opinion that vessels intended for the day-to-day work of transpprting bulk cargoes do not require a speed exceeding 11 to 12 knots, since, in their opinion, the time saved by greater speed is offset by higher first and operating, costs. The Japanese appear to think otherwise, and it may be that they are influenced in their opinion by the long distances which their ships have to cover in the Pacific. At any rate, they are taking a line of their own. It would appear, however, that the construction of fast cargo vessels is being encouraged at the expense of vessels #f moderate speed. During the last ten years, Japan has built only 27 cargo vessels of 3000 tons gross or over having speeds of less than 12 knots. She still owns, of course, a large number of cargo vessels of Hhis ocean-going type which were built during the war, but their useful life "must be limited and apparently there is no intention to replace them except with very- fast cargo liners./ This may possibly be the-policy best adapted to Japan's needs," but it is certain that a-fleet well balanced between the various types of ships,; such as is the British Merchant Navy, is best suited to our own needs. FIFTY YEARS AGO EARTHQUAKE IN STRAIT According to an extract from a ; Sydney exchange published in. "The Post" of fifty years ago the schooner Silyer Cloud, which arrived at Newcastle on August 31, 1886, from Napier, in passing through Cook Strait, experienced a severe earthquake shock which caused her to tremble and shake from stem to stern. The shock was accompanied by a rumbling noise like thunder.

Captain Conway, of the steamer Maori, which arrived at Wellington on September 15 from Greymouth reported that he fell in with the schooner Cora in tow of the Waitaki off Farewell Spit. , It appeared that the Cora was laden: with coals from Greymouth bound to Waitara, and during a heavy" gale sprung a leak, which kept the crew at the pumps for about two ■ days. A quantity of the cargo had to be flung o.verboard to keep the schooner afloat. She was fortunate enough to meet the s.s. Waitaki, bound from Wellington to Greymouth, and the captain of that steamer took her in tow and later transferred the tow line to the Maori, which took the schooner into Nelson.

A. Sydney cable ' stated that the Federated Seamen's Union \had passed a resolution condemning the inhumanity shown by the captain" and officers of the Mariposa in lashing up men by the thumbs because they were unable to stand the work of the stokehold, and pledging themselves to call upon the Government of the colony to use its influence to prevent boats carrying mails being manned by Chinese. The steamer Southern Cross, which arrived at Auckland from Gisborne on September 14 had a very stormy passage. Eight bullocks died in the forehold, and 250 sheep were drowned on deck. An accident happened to the machinery which stopped the engines for 10 hours. During the height of the gale the topsail and maintopsail • were blown away. Every effort was made to save the stock, but all were fruitless.

The cutter Start went ashore at Chamberlain's Island on September 16 and was expected to become a total loss.

A timber-laden vessel was reported to be upside down on the rocks off Waikokopu, near Mahia. There were no signs of the crew.