NEW MOTOR SHIPS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26776, 20 May 1948, Page 4

NEW MOTOR SHIPS

AUSTRALIAN CONTRACT

UNION COMPANY’S FLEET The Union Steam Ship Co. of New Zealand has placed an order for two 3000-ton twin-screw motor ships with the State Dockyard, Newcastle. This is the first time an overseas shipping company has placed orders for ocean-going vessels with Australian shipbuilders.

Giving details of the contract, the Sydney newspaper, Commercial Australia, states that the keel of the first ship would be laid, at the earliest, in six months and would be launched six months later and ready for trials in a further three months. If steel could be procured, the yard would need 500 extra men.

The dimensions of the two ships will be: An overall length, 305 feet; moulded breadth, 43ft; moulded depth, 19ft 6in; mean draft, 17ft 3in. The main engines will be two “Atlas ” diesels, each developing 840 b.h.p. at 220 revolutions a minute. The trial speed is to be a minimum of 11 knots on full load draft and the service speed 10 knots. New Method Adopted The director of the dockyard said the dockyard, which had built about 30 ships since it opened late in 1942, would this time start a new construction procedure. It would attempt to have all the steel ready for the first Union Company ship before it commenced to lay the keel. The seven ships building or on order and the demand on the dockyard's repair facilities would ensure about three years’ steady work. Subsidies to 25 per cent, of the cost of the ships would be paid by the Federal Government to Australian shipbuilders, Senator Arnold, deputychairman of the Australian Shipbuilding Board, announced recently. He said the agreement would apply to the State Dockyard's order from the Union Company. The subsidy . agreement would enable Australian shipbuilders to compete with British yards. Australia's Advantages “This 25 per cent, margin will, it is anticipated, be ample to help the industry,” Senator Arnold said. “ Tenders for the two ships are barely within it. It has been made plain to the ShipBuilding Board that the Government is not prepared to go above this margin of protection. “We are emphasising to builders that it is up to them to keep their costs within these limits.” he said. “Australia has the advantage, of cheap steel, modern machinery and several years’ experience of shipbuilding. On the new terms, it should be able to compete favourably.”