THE MOTOR SHIR

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19349, 9 December 1924, Page 2

THE MOTOR SHIR

WILL. IT OUST THE STEAMSHIP? Such marked progress has been made with the development of the motor ship in the past few years that it seems safe to predict that this new type of vessel will displace the steamer more rapidly than the steamer displaced the sailing ship. According to the latest quarterly return issued by Lloyd s Register of Shipping, there are 2,561,468 tons of shipping under construction throughout the world, and the tonnage of motor ships included in this total amounts to 939,899. In other words, 58 tons of motor-driven ships are being built for every 100 tons of steamships. In Germany, Denmark, and Sweden more motor ships are being built than steamships, the percentage being 75 tons of motor vessels to every 25 tons of steamers. Ninety-nine motor ships of over 5000 tons are now being constructed in the shipbuilding yards throughout the world. Eighty-five of these are ships of between 5000 and 10,000 tons, seven between 10,000 and 15,000 tons, and seven of between 15,000 and 22,000 tons. There are already afloat 1709 motor vessels, their gross tonnage being 1,643,825. Most of these are small vessels of under 1000 tons. But 178 of them jre each of over 4000 tons, and 21 are of over 8000 tons. Three years ago the idea of building 20,000-ton passenger liners equipped with motor engines was ridiculed by tho majority of the shipping community. It was contended that motor engines powerful enough to drive such big ships could not be built. But rapid progress has been made with the development of the motor engine, and there are now T 4 motor liners of between 10,000 and 22,000 tons under construction. The first order for a large motor liner was given in 1922 by the Union Steam Ship Company of Now Zealand. This vessel, tho Aorangi, which will set out on her maiden voyage to Australia and New Zealand in December, has accommodation for 1000 passengers and a speed of 18 knots. She will be able to travel 16,000 miles without replenishing her supply of fuel. Tho Union Castle Line, which trades between England and South Africa, has a 20,000-ton motor liner under construction. Sho will be 630 ft long, with a beam of 73ft, and a depth of 46ft. She will have a speed of 18 and it is estimated that her fuel consumption will not exceed 70 tons of oil a day at full speed. The view that the ship of the future is tho motor ship has been accepted in influential shipping quarters. The motor engine is more expensive to build than the steam engine, but it can be operated more cheaply. It has been estimated that the motor ship can carry a bigger dead weight than the steamer to an extent varying from 5 to 10 per cent., according to the service on which she is engaged. She is therefore more profitable than tho steamship. Her engines occupy less space than steam engines, and sho needs no coal bunkers. She can carry her oil fuel in the double bottoms in •which the steamer carries water ballast. Not only are the, earnings of the motor ship relatively greater than those of tho steamship, because the absence of coal bunkers and her more compact engines give more room for cargo, but’ her expenditure is less, because she does not require os large an engine- room staff as the steamship. And it costs less to pump oil into her tanks than to bunker coal in a steamship. It is of interest to note that there are still 4200 sailing ships afloat, their gross tonnage being 2,740,000 tons, compared with 59,878,000 tons of steamships and motor ships. The majority of the sailing vessels are small, and a large number of them are engaged in fishing in European waters. Nevertheless, the tramp sailing ship is still to be found on all the important trade routes of the world. In 1890 sailing ships comprised over 9,000,000 tons of the 22,000,000 tons of shipping afloat. But since then steam and motor tonnage has increased by 46,000,000 tons,’ and sailing tonnage has decreased by over 6,000,000 tons.