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~ What the British Are Doing Short Surveys of Important Activities in Maritime Centers of Island Empire 32 cargo boats, 74 vessels in all, are being offered for sale in Great Britain. Lord Inchcape, who was suc- cessful in disposing recently of all of the ships built by the British government during the war, is again acting on behalf of the ministry of shipping. The largest and most important ship, the BISMARCK with a gross tonnage of 56,000, was under construction for the north At- lantic service of the Norddeutscher Lloyd in 1914. When war broke out and in the years that followed there was much speculation in allied countries as to what was being done to her. The armistice found her still unfinished and she is now one of the very few ships which the allies have not put to any use, pending the final settlement. Consequently no data is available as to her cost of operation. The second largest ship, the Imperator, of 52,000 tons, is already well known on both sides of the Atlantic. - The other steamers range in size down to the smallest of only 1117 gross tons. One of the conditions of sale is that the names of the ships shall be changed, the new names selected to be approved by the board of trade. Offers are being received by Lord Inchcape and on ac- ceptance of the offer 10 per cent of the purchase price is to be paid within two days, the balance to be paid on delivery of the vessel. Delivery will be made to a port in the United Kingdom after the vessel is drydocked for examination. A surrendered floating dock exceeding 700 feet in length with a lifting capacity - of 40,000 tons, has arrived at Sheerness, _England, from Kiel. Twelve tugs were required to tow it to its berth near Port Victoria. ok oe HE dispute between the platers and their helpers employed in many of the Clyde, Scotland, shipyards regarding an advance of wages awarded several months ago is getting worse and a gen- erai lockout in the Clyde yards is prob- -able. In this case the dispute is be- tween two classes of workers and the employers do not enter into it, except to suffer from its results. Teamsters work- ing at the docks in the Liverpool dis- trict are clamoring for an increase of 16 shillings a week (about $4), which if granted will mean an average wage of £4 7s to £4 16s ($15.20 to $16.75) Be csse0 bc ex-German liners and according to the size of the team. The firm of Harland & Wolff, Belfast, Ire- land, has proposed to the shipbuilding and Engineering federation that wages be stabilized for a period of two years. The first union to reply to this proposi- tion is the Painters' society, which re- jects the offer and is attempting to secure a 25 per cent advance in wages. * * * ROM Glasgow, Scotland, comes the news that Harland & Wolff will erect a large foundry and machine shop at Govan, on a site covering about 40 acres. Castings of all sizes will be turned out. This completes the plant necessary to enable Harland & Wolff to build a complete vessel in their own works. ee HE Yorxsuire, 504 feet long with a tonnage of 10,500, has just been completed for the Bibby line and is the largest of their fleet. The vessel is pro- pelled by twin screws driven by two sets of geared turbines, and has accom- modation for 300 first-class passengers. Charles Rennoldson & Co. South Shields, has launched the Inston, 270 fect lone. for S. Instone & Co., Ltd., London, for a special trade. Sir Raylton Dixon & Co., Ltd., Middlesbrough, has delivered to French owners an 8900-ton steamer fitted with quadruple expansion engines. Eight similar vessels are to be built for the same owners: Other launchings in the northeastern district are the Sirene, 7000 tons, for a French firm; and TreparTtHaA, 8300 tons for the Hain Steamship .Co;x Ltd, St. Ives. In the Clyde shipyards there is a record output of tonnage for the first eight months of the year, 139 vessels aggregat- ing 430,244 tons having been launched. To this total August contributed 24 ships with a gross tonnage of 79,982. #9 kk WO and a half years ago the Bren- My-CHrEeE a fast British turbine stéamer of 2650 tons was wrecked in the Mediterranean. Before the war she was employed in the Isle-of-Man Steam Packet service and was converted by the admiralty into a seaplane carrier. In January, 1917, she entered the harbor of Kastelorizo, off the coast of Asia Minor. Her captain Commander C. R. Samson, knew nothing of the carefully concealed Turkish batteries in the har- £96 bor and at this close range, being only lightly armed, the ship was doomed. She was abandoned in a sinking condi- tion with her decks and upper works practically destroyed by fire. The Ocean Salvage Co., Ltd., has now raised the vessel which will be towed to Piraeus and handed over to Lloyd's agent, act- ing for the British ministry of ship- ping. The salving of the ship was rather a formidable task; a cofferdam had to be constructed and numerous shot holes plugged to make the hull watertight before pumping operations could be commenced. Timber for this work had to be carried over 520 miles by sea from Constantinople. A quantity of shells, torpedoes and aerial bombs were found in her and the corrosive action of salt water made the handling of these explosives a risky task. - ik * HE Field Line (Cardiff) Ltd., which has been in existence 20 years has decided to voluntarily wind up _ its affairs. The scheme provides for the payment of £45,000 as compensation to the managers and £5000 to the direc- tors, leaving a balance which, it is stated, will enable shareholders to receive £4 for each £1 share. Labor conditions, government restrictions and the general uncertainty of shipping today has caused the directors to make this decision. * *K XX HERE is a small number of men idle in the Scottish shipyards. Al- though there has been a marked falling off in activity so far as the construc- tion of cargo vessels, trawlers and other fishing craft is concerned, the liner work will probably prevent much un- employment for the next year at least. The present unemployment is due not so much to lack of work as to scarcity of materials. xk x HE Moffatt Steamship Co. has been formed with a capital of £120,000 with the. object of acquiring a fleet of steamers suitable for the near continental and coastwise trade and accessible at all ports where freight offers. The managers, Messrs. Moffatt & Nicholson, Ltd, were successful in securing two new steamships for de- livery in July, each of 300-ton capacity. It is proposed to acquire immediately two more steamships of similar capac ity. The trading profit of the four