FUEL FOR THE FLEET

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 143, 18 June 1937, Page 14

FUEL FOR THE FLEET

USE OF COAL SUGGESTED

PREFERENCE FOR OIL

(British Official Wlreless.l (Received June 18, 12.50 p.m.)

RUGBY, June 17.

A debate was raised in the House of Lords last night by Lord Ailwyn.who asked the Government whether consideration would be given to the matter of coal firing in.all ships of new construction for the Fleet, and if not, whether It would state the reason for its continued policy of relying exclusively on oil for the ships of the Navy. Ec pointed out that imports of oil had increased from 2,500,000 tons in 1914 to nearly 12,000,000 tons in 1936. Earl Stanhope, replying for the Government, said that although oil supplies were not under British control, such a number of countries now supplied oil that it would be extremely unlikely that any real difficulty in getting supplies from one source or another would arise. The Government hoped and believed that the measures it had in view wodld be sufficient to meet any emergency. If a 10,000-ton cruiser was converted from oil to coal it would lose 3J knots in speed, and the general view of the Admiralty was that technical arguments were so strongly in favour of oil that they outweighed, even from a strategical point, the disadvantage of having to buy fuel from foreign sources. Reserves of oil fuel had been steadily accumulated for a large number of years, and were going ahead very satisfactorily. .