THE SINGAPORE BASE.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 16 April 1926, Page 5

THE SINGAPORE BASE.

IMMENSE FLOATING DOCK. LIFT OF 50,000 TONS. LONDON, April 6. The great size of the proposed floating dock at Singapore will cause surprise when its dimensions are revealed, says the Singapore correspondent of The Times. It will not be far short of 900 ft. long, with a depth on the sill of 50ft., and a lifting capacity of 50,000 tons. These dimensions are not extravagant. because, not only will it have to deal with, the biggest battleships afloat, but also accommodate the modern seaplane carrier, which is longer and broader than these. The Director of Naval Construction has designed the dock, and the Admiralty has definitely decided to have it constructed in England and assembled at Singapore. An engineer,. Mr. Sydney Staples, is investigating on behalf of nine British shipbuilding firms, who are prospective tenderers, whether such an assembly is practicable. He is of the opinion that it would take two years to complete the work. Mr, Staples says that the Admiralty emphatically negatived the suggestion to tow out the completed dock to Singapore. It is estimated that towing would cost £50,000, but it has not been ascertained whether the cost of assembly at Singapore would exceed this sum.