LIQUID FUEL

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 83, Issue 245, 17 October 1939, Page 8

LIQUID FUEL

DEMANDS OF WAR THE TASK OF THE TANKERS. Many parts of the world, including both New Zealand and Australia, are utterly dependent on oil freighters lor their petrol .supplies, and although not much thought is given by people to those vessels in time of peace their importance has been quickly recognised in war. During recent years great activity has been manifest among the big oil corporations in increasing their fleets of tankers, and only last year trie U.S.A. Government voted over £2,000.000 towads the construction of 12 fast boats of Ihis type which will cost one oi' the leading oil companies of that country £625.000 each. Their speed is to bo 19 knots and each y ill be capable of carrying 16,300 tons of liquid fuel in varying grades for naval units and aricraft. The world's present fleet ot tankers numbers some 1655 vessels in all, but the consumption of liquid fuel of all kinds during -hostilities will be so great that this fleet will have a hard task in meeting, or attempting lo meet, it. Military authorities in Great Britain arc reported to hawstated that the war demands will be from two to three times that under normal conditions, and in normal conditions the United Kingdom alone was importing nearly 87,000,000 barrels of 42 gallons each and France nearly 60.000,000, barrels a day. Well over one-third of the .yiipments passed through the Mediterranean. Taking the war demand at double, 33,500,000 gallons a day will require to be supplied. The average capacity of a tanker is a little over 2.000,000 gallons. Britain's tanker lonn.y is 3,013,687, just over 28 per cent. o. th: world's gross. France has only 2.2 per cent. America has in the region . ot 418 tankers, giving a tonnage ot 2,758,642, over 25 per cent, of the world's gross. Taking British and French boats [ alone, and assuming only double normal requirements, 24 tankers will have to deliver fuel to Britain and France daily.