LATE SHIPPING.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume IV, Issue 956, 5 March 1917, Page 11

LATE SHIPPING.

By Cable. — Press Association. — Copyright. (Received March 5, 1,15 p.m.) MELBOURNE, March 5 Arrived—Perth, from New Zealand.

The Kowhai gets away for Grcymouth to morrow.

It seems as if there might lie some good salvage lor underwriters from the wreck of the steamer Bear, which lies near Cape Mendocino (says "Fairplay"). The after part has been badly damaged, but from forward to aft of the engine-room the vessel seems fairly sound, and an attempt to float this portion is to be made. In addition to this, some valuable fittings have already been recovered, and success to the further operations will mean a handsome recovery on the vessel's insured value of £IOO,OOO. Arrangements have been completed for a large floating drydock at Vancouver, B.C. The structure will be a 10,000 tons doublesection dock, capable of handling a boat of 18,000 tons, which is the measure of maximum requirements on the Pacific to-day. The company is the Vancouver Dry Docks, Ltd. Bonds to the amount of i'loo,ooo have been sold to a Cincinnati firm. A shiprepair and shipbuilding plant is a part of the plan decided upon. Contracts for the construction and machinery are being let, and the company announces that it will have the dock in operation within a year. There will be subsidy aid from the Governments of both the Dominion of Canada and the Province of British Columbia, on tiie ground that the dc.k will be a commercial and naval asset.

Although definite instructions have not yet been issued to shipbuilders, no ship can be laid down in the United Kingdom without a certificate from the Board of Trade. Certificates are only issued in the case of vessels which are considered best in the national interest. All British shipbuilding resources which are available at present for building merchant ships are engaged in the building of cargo carriers, and arrangements arc being made to concentrate available labour as far as possible on the ships nearest completion. There are now 28 vessels under construction in the United Kingdom for neutral countries, and arrangements have been made for these vessels, when completed, to be used in the Allied interest. There is power to requisition any ship building in the United Kingdom.