CHANGES IN SHIPPING

Northern Advocate, 23 July 1923, Page 4

CHANGES IN SHIPPING

An interesting remark concerning the future of shipping was made by Mr Masscy during his speech in the Financial Debate in the House of Representatives. The Prime Minister said that when he was last in England he was offered ships at what he considered a reasonable price. He consulted friends who had no interest in the trade with New Zealand, and they were very candid With him. They raid the shijjs offered were suitable for carrying frozen meat, but they wiarncd him that shipping was passing through a transition stage and in a few years those ships would be obsolete. "There is," ■added Mr Massey, ' 1 a new of ship coming into the trade. There is a ship belonging to. the Federal Line and chartered by the Union Company—a vessel with Diesel engines. That is the typte of vessel tc which my •informants referred. "There is another being built for the trade between Vancouver and New Zealand, also with Diesel engines. My fiiends said, 'If you have a good thing on and can get the trade, wiell and good, but we cannot advise you to buy the ships unless you get a particularly good bargain and have good business for them to do.' I held the options open till I came back to New Zealand. Then I consulted a few friends, who said, 'Better let it go and we will do our best to get freights re-duced,-without your going, in for ships at present.' So I let the ships go, and I have no reason to regret it." Mr Massey apparently was wise in rejecting vessels that are likely to become obsolete. A recent Avriter in the II Economist" gave interesting particulars pf 'the important saving that will be effected by an increasing use of internal-combustion engines for purposes of marine propulsion. "With Diesel engines," he observed, "a ship can Obtain the samp, power, or the same mnge, one-third the quantity of the fuel which would be required for oil-fired furnaces. The important fact to seize is that heavy oil 'or : fuel oil can bo, and has beenj used in the Diesel engine, although 'Diesel oil' is-pre-sently required..to be mucli lighter than 'fuel oil' for the type of .engine in vogue. In. the merchant marine, the number of Diesel-engined vessels is in-, creasing, steadily. • There is no doubt thrt. the internal combustion engine using heavy oil is thp power-unit, of the future." Apart from the, direct snving mentioned, ships of the type.indicr"ted l obviously Trill.be superior to most of the vessels now in commission in hoving a larger of their internal space available for cargo.