FIREPROOF SHIP

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 67, 20 March 1937, Page 24

FIREPROOF SHIP

METAL AND ASBESTOS

A Pittsburg shipping company announced recently the completion of a 99 per cent, unburnable passenger ship.

The vessel, it was stated, "is the first to be rebuilt in compliance with the new regulations of the United States Department of Commerce to eliminate for the first time in history the hazard from fire at sea." Fireproofed by the Maryland Drydock Company, a Koppers subsidiary, the ship is operated by the A. H. Bull Steamship Company in West Indies service and carries 64 passengers and a crew of 47. The commerce department fire regulations, which will apply to all future ship construction, permit 10 per cent, of the material used to be wood. The Catherine has less than 1 per cent, of wood in her. The remainder of her construction is of steel, fireproof composition material, and compressed asbestos, the announcement George French, general manager of j the drydock company, said reconstruction of the "vessel proved the possibility of obtaining as satisfactory architectural and decorative results with fireproof material and ornamental plastic applications as is possible with lighter, inflammable materials. Staterooms, walls, doors and floors are insulated. Even bedclothes, draperies, and furniture are treated to iesist fire. The ship has an elaborate fire detection and alarm system.