LINER WITHOUT COAL.

Mataura Ensign, 17 April 1912, Page 6

LINER WITHOUT COAL.

FIRST LARGE MOTOR STEAMER. In the West India Dock on February 27 was to be seen the first motor-luer over built, the Danish East Asiatic Company's steamer Selandia, which arrived from Copenhagen on her nia'den voyage to Bangkok (Siam). Perhaps the ir.ost curious outward feature of tho Selandia is the fact that she carries no funnels, the only outlet being through ventilators fitted in the masts. The vessel behaved splendidly during a moderate gale and the pilot who brought her up the river states that he had never handled a ship so quick to answer the engine-room signals. Her normal speed is 12 knots and the engines can be reversed from furl speed ahead to full speed astern in under 20 seconds. The reversing of the engines presented in the first instance considerable difficulty to the engineers. The Selandia was visited by numbers of marine engineers and. shipbuilders. She is the first of a fleet of three which is to be built for the same company, while six smaller vessels of 0500 'fr>ns each are on order for other coinpenies.