GIANT LINERS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22465, 8 July 1936, Page 10

GIANT LINERS

THE QUEEN MARY

PROPOSED SISTER SHIP GOVERNMENT'S ASSISTANCE [from our own correspondent] LONDON, June 20 Close on the heels of the maiden royage of the Queen Mary has come the announcement by Mr. Neville Chamberlain, Chancellor of the Exchequer, that a sister ship is to be built. Replying to a question in the House Df Commons, Mr. Chamberlain said: "I have received application from the Cunard-White Star Company for authority to use the sum available under the North Atlantic Shipping Act for the construction of a sister ship to the Queen Mary. After careful examination of the company's reasons, I have agreed to . this in principle—but have reserved rights of further consultation before any'contract is signed. The company has obtained preliminary tenders from various yards, and I understand that, after consideration, they are negotiating in the first instance with John Brown and Company, the builders of the Queen Mary. The choice of builder must be a matter for consideration by the company of the relative technical pnd commercial merits of the case." Battleships as Compensation In addition to John Brown and Company,- three other shipbuilding companies were invited to submit designs and. details of costs for a sister ship to the Queen Mary. They were VickersArmstrongs (which has yards at Walker-on-Tvne and Barrow-in-Fur-liess), Cammell Laird and Company (Birkenhead) and Swan Hunter and Wigham Richardson (Wallsend-on-Tyne). It is generally understood that the companies which have unsuccessfully tendered will be compensated by the Government with contracts for two new battleships. If this is so, one will be built by Cammell Laird and Company and one by Swan Hunter and "Wigham Richardson, with Vickers-Armstrongs providing the machinery. Tenders for the battleships have not yet been asked for. It is suggested that the name of the sister ship to the Queen Mary may be either the King George or the King George V. Much Employment Provided The fact that the new ship will probably be built on the Clyde suggests that" the slipways already constructed and the patterns and equipment for the Queen Mary may be used to construct an almost identical ship. Nearly £4.000,000 in wages will be paid to the 200,000 workers who will be employed on the' construction of the new ship, directly and .indirectly. By the terms of an agreement with the Cunard Steamship Company and the Oceanic Steam Navigation Company (White Star)', the Treasury undertook to advance amounts of up to £4,500,000 for the completion of the Queen Mary and working capital for Cunard-White Star, Limited. The Treasury was empowered, at it's discretion, to advance up to £5,000,000 for another new ship, or for other new ships. Total advances of up to £9,500,000 were authorised by the North Atlantic Shipping Act, 1934. Improvements Proposed The decision that a sister ship shall be built has been received with much satisfaction, although there is disappointment on the banks of the Mersey and Tyne because the vessel will not be built there. Not only does the decision mean that more employment will be given to many hundreds: it also means an increase in the confidence of British shipping. The experience gained bv Messrs. Brown in building the Queen Mary has given the firm an immense advantage over any other shipbuilding firm, and means that the firm could effect an enormous saving in the preliminary costs of a similar vessel. The acme of perfection though the Queen .Mary may be, it is expected that the sister ship will incorporate several improvements, for, in the words of Sir Percy Bates on his return home from the first trip to New York and back, no one has ever built a ship without being able to build a better one.