THE EVOLUTION OF SHIPPING.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XIII, Issue 21, 8 January 1923, Page 6

THE EVOLUTION OF SHIPPING.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES. Those who have studied shipping questions are aware (writes the naval correspondent of the “Morning Post”) that the history of that industry is on© of evolution. This is directly opposed to the popular supposition tha l revolution is the principal characteristic. It is a common error to point to the change from oars to sail and from sail to steam as a means of propulsion, and to say that those phases have revolutionised shipping. But in doing so the very gradual advance of the various processes have been lost sight of ; so gradual that, in fact, they constitute evolution and not revolution. The history of shipping, however, may be divided up into seveal epochs or well-defined phases. Oars, for instance, held sway for centuries simpdy because no other method was known of making progress against the wind, aL though, even then, sails were utilised when the wind was fair. The invention of the marine steam engine did not at once render the sailing vessel obsolete, purely because the simple type of marine engine was not economical to work When an economical type, in the shape of the compound engine was evolved, the death knell of the sailing vessel Was sounded; from which time the advance in steam-propelled vessels has been continued. The methods of transmitting the necessary power to tile propeller shafts have, however, since undergone certain well-marked changes. From the compound engine developed the tripleexpansion. which, when it had reached its point of maximum development, was superseded by the steam turbine. The ordinary steam turbine has. in turn, been expanded into the geared turbine, and has also, in th© case of certain. United States battleships been utilised to generate power for driving the propellers by electricity. To-day 0.1 }UI SuiSVOJOUI UB ©JU OAY duction of a new form of marine propulsion—the internal combustion engine of the Diesel type. ECONOMICIAD WORKING. ■ It was only shortly before the war that the papers were full of the performance of the motor-driven cargo vessels Selandia and Jutlandia, which may be regarded as the pioneers of the the new form of propulsion. The conditions obtaining during the war prevented any great advances being made, but since the Armistice, the strides which have been made in the matter of motor shipis is remarkable. Despite! the handicap du© to the war. the total tonnage of motor-driven ships has increased sevenfold since 1914. Standing, in Jujy, 1914, at 234.287 gross tons, it aggregated in July of year 1.542,160 gross tons. In th© matter of size also of individual vessels the advance is no less noticeable. A motor vessel of 22,000 tons, with a length of 600 feet and a speed of 18 knots has been ordered'from a Clyde firm by the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand, whilst Messrs. Elder, Dempster and Co. have a meftor liner, the Aba on their West African service, and another, the Adda, intended for the same service nearing completion. But these vessels by no means complete th® tale Amongst the most noticeable of the motor vessels recently built for the cargo service ar© those belonging to a Norwegian firm—the Tennessee, Teneriffe, and Thalatta. These are large vessels, designed to carry some 11,000 tons of cargo. Fitted with Diesel engines. they maintain an average sea speed of about 11 knots and consume 10 tons of oil per diem. As their oil storage capacity of 1300 tons it will b© seen that their radius of action is immense, far exceeding that possessed by any steam-driven vessel. A NEW EPOCH. This large radius capacity with small fuel expenditure is the main feature of the motor ship, and. one which will alinost certainly/have a great effect on our shipivng industry when building again resumes its normal conditions. To reduce operating costs is always a problem which confronts shipowners, smaller fuel bills lor distance run and reduction in the engine and boiler100m staffs must hae a corresponding effect o n freight. It seems, therefore, | at any rate as regards cargo vessels, that those fitted with internal combustion engines will have a great advantage when competing for freight in the open market; whilst motor-driven passenger vessels, on certain routes where high speed is not essential, will probably predominate eventually over steam-driven vessels. # A sign of the times is the steps being taken by the principal oil companies to secure supplies of Diesel oil being available at all the seaports of the world. Reference was mad© above to high speed. At present—and in the opinion of many leading experts, for many years to come—the internal combustion engine is limited, in the case of large vessels, to those of moderate speed. In this realm the geared steam turbine still holds sway, although there are possibilities in a combination of the Diesel engine with the electric drive, a system which report says is to be experimented with in the United States Navy. Should this problem be solved—-the attainment of high speed by large vessels with small fuel expenditure—either by means of the internal comustion engine or by the combination outlined above, the influence on naval operations will be very great. Strategy will be simplified on account of the great sea-keeping capacity of capital ships. But it must not be forgotten that the submarine was rendered particularly potent as a commerce destroyer by reason of its sea-keeping capacity, mad© possible by internal combustion engine. A surface commerce raider with enormous radius of ac-: tion is now a factor to be reckoned with in war. due also to the internal combustion engine. Altogether, the indications seem to be that we are on the threshold of a new epoch in the history of shipping.