NEW MINESWEEPERS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 76, 19 June 1941, Page 2

NEW MINESWEEPERS

THAMES FIRM’S PART Dunedin June 17. No time will be lost in commencing the work of constructing modern shipyards at Port Chalmers, and a man prominently identified with the enterprise said to-day that the first steps in the building programme would be taken this week. Messr Stevenson and Cook, in conjunction with several other firms, including Messrs A. and G. Price, Limited, of Thames, will be l-esponsible for the building of the four vessels within 12 months. Two slipways will be built and the first two mine-sweepers will be launched in January of next year, five months after the keels are laid. The ships, which will be of the Castle type, with a length of 130 ft., will then be fitted for service, and it is expected that they will be commissioned three months after launching. As soon as the first pair is off the slips the keels of the third and fourth vessels will be laid. The shipyards themselves will be of modern type, with workshops under cover, and the latest equipment, including electric and travelling cranes, will be installed. All the materials for the hulls and boilers will be obtained from Broken Hill, and the contracts call for the delivery of the necessary steel within 14 weeks. The first of the buildings at Port Chalmers will be ready in eight weeks, when the keels of the first two ships will be laid. In addition to the hulls, the boilers will also be made at Port Chalmers. The engines will be constructed at Thames by Messrs Price, in conjunction with Messrs John McGregor and Son, Dunedin. The electrical work and plumbing will be undertaken by Messrs. A. and T. Burt, and other equipment by the Dunedin Engineering Company.—P.A.