BUSY SHIPYARDS.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 3 April 1929, Page 9

BUSY SHIPYARDS.

CONSTRUCTION OF WHALERS. In addition to the large number ot contracts being placed in British shipyards lor ships of the general cargo type several shipbuilding companies have received business for an interesting and highly specialised class of yessef for the whaling industry; Nowadays it is quite the usual thing lor a large ship to be attached to a ilotilla of smaller steam whalers, the depot ship being used for preparing the vari-> oub lats and other products for which the annuals are bunted. One of the shipyards on the Tees has just received an order to build seven whalers for a Norwegian (oinpany. with, it is said, an option to construct seven more. These ships will use as parent ship a large vessel being built by Workman Clark and Co. of Belfast, this ship being specially fitted out to accommodate a personnel for no less than 350, being in fact a floating factory. Another company lias bought tlie WJiie Star liner Suevic, of nearly 13,000 tons gross, hitherto employed on the Australian passenger _ trade and carrying more than 400 cabin class passengers. . She, is to be altered to suit the new trade, and ship repairers on the north-east coast have been actively canvassing tor the business Several ""oil tankers have been altered for the same trade, the changes in some cases involving tlie construction of a special bow through which the whales can be liauled lor treatment. Naturally, for work of tills character, quite large ships are necessary, and some of the biggest oil tankers in the world have been used for this purpose.'