NINE NEW VESSELS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 20770, 21 May 1942, Page 5

NINE NEW VESSELS

AMERICA TO S. AFRICA SHORTER TRIPS PLANNED CAPETOWN, Mar. 17. Nine new vessels totalling more than 88,000 tons for * the America-South Africa run, some of which were due to come into commission last year, are described by the South African Shipping Board in its annual report, presented to Parliament this week. These ships will have greatly increased cargo space and voyages in some cases will be speeded up by as much as five days. The American-South African Line informed the board during the year that it had been decided to place three new vessels in their service between New York and South Africa. The first vessel was to be delivered in November, 1941, and the other two at monthly intervals after that. The three were intended to augment the present fleet of the, line, the schedule to be one sailing a month from New York to South and East Africa as far north as Mombasa. The voyage from New York to Capetown should take 17 days, compared with the 22 days now taken by the City of New York, the fastest vessel of the line. The homeward passage from Capetown to Trinidad will be 12 days 17 hours and from Trinidad to New York four days 22 Pours. The schedule calls for an average speed of 16| knots, although the vessels will be capable of a considerably higher speed. They will be of 9975 tons and each is to have one hold for refrigerated cargo of 52,000 cubic feet. There will be accommodation for 111 passengers. In the near future, it is stated, refrigerated space of about 1000 tons a month will be available for the transport of cool chamber cargo from the Union of South Africa to the United States.