Docking at European Ports.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 11573, 3 October 1900, Page 1

Docking at European Ports.

( Although many European ports having the largest* commerce are compelled to put their ships in docks to load and unload, this is not the universal rule in England. The tides in the Mersey have a range of from 20 to 30 feet, and Liverpool must therefore always rely on that system. At London the rise and fall seldom exceeds 20 feet, but all vessels that enter that port are docked. Havre, Cherbourg, and other French ports on the Channel are even worse off than Liverpool in the matter of tides ; and at Bremerhaven, \yhere the heavier traffic of Bremen is handled, docks' are regarded as a necessity, although the situation is not nearly so urgent on the Weser as on the Mersey. Southampton is peculiarly fortunate. Her tides range only from 8 to 12 feet. Partly because of established precedent perhaps, and maybe because it is considered good policy, but certainly not from necessity, she, has two or three '• g.ited wet do'eks. But she is also provided with other enclosures, , whose entrances are never shut. One of these " open docks " is used by the steamships I of the American line. Antwerp is another i important port which has both closed docks and open quays alongside which j ships can lie at t any stage of the tide. The latter a J fford the Red Star line its ! terminal, facilities, and that company owns the biggest vessels that enter Antwerp Harbour. "' Marseilles has a magnificent breakwater, 4000 feetlong, to keep the waves from 'her quays, but the latter are simply recesses in the shore \ine, not gated basins. The port of Hamburg, a j costly new work of engineering made j necessary by joining the Imperial Cus- j toms Unioa twelve or fifteen years ago, is also devoid of docks, except for purposes of repair, and yet the tides at Hamburg ore almost as great as at London.

But whether shipping is compelled to enter gated enclosures or not in aU of these cities it takes and discharges its cargo at quays of substantial masonry. Formerly the quays were constructed entirely of stone. But of late years an extensive use has been made of concrete. Sometimes the wall has a face of granite and a backing of concreto, and sometimes it is all of concrete. This was the case with the famous Royal Albert Dock of London, completed in 1880. It was afterwards deemed desirable to replace the coping with one of stone, but otherwise the construction has stood the test of time. However, the newest docks at Liverpool were built altogether of Scotch granite.

There are now ninety docks on the Mersey, a quarter of them on the Birkenhead side, but all under the management of one Boqrd. Of these sixty-seven are wet docks, for ordinary commercial use, and twenty-three are dry docks. The latest wet docks, completed within a year or two, will accommodate a large number of ships 800 feet long (when there are any), a few of 900 feet, and one of 980 feet. The < Oceanic is 705 feet long. The Liverpool docks are connected so that a ship can pass from one to another. Some of these groups include a dozen basins. On the Liverpool side of tho river the docks extend for a distance of fully seven miles, but the tctal length of the quays is nearly or quite thirty miles. On the quays are sheds and warehouses. The newest sheds have brick walls, corrugated iron doors, and slate 1 roofs. The warehouses are much higher and more substantial. They are' composed of coarse, dark brick, and are practically fireproof. Some of the warehouses are owned by the city, some by railroad and other corporations, and some by private individuals. 'Large cranes, mounted on railway tracks so as to be moved along the quay from ono point to another, are used in Liverpool to unload heavy articles. A conspicuous feature of -this harbour is a landing stage, a platform 80 or 100 ft wide and three-quarters of a mile long, kept afloat by enormous iron pontoons. This is moored near the shore, with which it is connected by eight bridges. Until 1895 it was customary for the great liners to put their passengers on this stage by means of tenders, and then proceed to .their docks; but extensive d "edging has now made itposiible for the steamships to come to the stage themselves.

London has a larger cpmmevco than any other city in tho world. Liverpool comes next, and Hamburg probably ranks third, although Antwerp closely approaches her. The docks of London cdver a greater area than those of Liverpool, and some of them individually are, or were until recently, larger than any on the Mersey. The Victoria dock, opened in 1855, measures 3000 by 1,050 feet. The Royal Albert, connecting with it, and completed in 1880, is 6500 feet long and 490 feet wide. Tho two, with their locks, constitute a chain almost three miles long, across one of the groat horseshoe bends in the Lower Thames. However, in facilities for handling merchandise London is no better off than Liverpool. Tho port of Hamburg possesses two or three distinct ive features. One is the system of mooring posts, or dolphins, running parallel with tho quays, but 339 feet distant from them. Then there are steam and hydraulic cranes, capable of lifting twenty, forty, and even fifty tons. One of these pieces of machinery, with a capacity of 150 tons, is probably the most powerful thing in tho world. Each quay has a pump for the hydraulic cranes, and these pumps are also available for fire service. Another notable feature of this port is the arrangement of railway trucks behind tho warehouses. Tho latter are of brick, and for a time pains were taken to introduce as much iron into the frames of the roof as possible. But a few years ago a firo twisted the metal so badly that it has been decided to substitute wood in future construction. This fact, like the experience of Elder, Dempster, and Co., in Liverpool the other day, shows that even with piers, quays, sheds, and warehouses of stone, brick, and iron there is yet danger from firo. And there always will be, it is to be f uarcd, until cargoes arc incombustible. — Exchange.