PASSENGER VESSEL FOR NEW ZEALAND

Southland Times, Issue 23392, 27 December 1937, Page 3

PASSENGER VESSEL FOR NEW ZEALAND

DOMINION MONARCH UNDER CONSTRUCTION Swan, Hunter and Wigham Richardson, Ltd., Wallsend-on-Tyne, are building for the Shaw Savill and Albion Company, Ltd., a passenger vessel of 27,000 tons gross, this tonnage making the vessel the biggest employed in the South Africa-Australia-New Zealand passenger, service. The liner will be approximately 650 feet between perpendiculars, with a breadth of 84 ft 6in. She will be a motor-vessel fitted with four sets of the Doxford type of opposed piston oil engines, driving quadruple screws, and her speed will be such that the voyage to New Zealand will take about 34 days. The proposed ports of call on this new route will be Capetown, Durban, Fremantle, Melbourne, Sydney and thence to either Wellington or Auckland. It is expected that the new vessel will he finished early in 1939 and the tentative sailing date from England is February 16, and the first sailing date from New Zealand will be the end of April. The vessel will be fitted with luxurious accommodation, unexcelled by any of the present vessels at present serving the southern dominions. The accommodation is limited to approximately 525 passengers and of the total number of berths mentioned there will be 167 single berth cabins, and 63 two-berth cabins, which are convertible to single berths. The remainder are two-berth cabins except for 30 three-berth cabins, which are also convertible. In addition to the carriage of passengers the vessel will have, apart from ample wool and general cargo space, a refrigerated cargo capacity of approximately 500,000 cubic feet for ,the New Zealand trade, including

specially built chambers for the carriage of chilled beef. It is expected that the vessel when completed will be one of the finest vessels of her type afloat. The Shaw Savill and Albion Company states that the new vessel will be named the Dominion Monarch.