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NU atl N ARRANGEMENT has been made between the common- wealth of Massachusetts and the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., by which improvements are to made at Haywards creek which is part in Quincy and part in Braintree. A float- ing drydock of massive size to cost upward of $2,000,000, a new railroad link to connect the waterfront with the New York, New Haven & Hartford railroad and the reclamation of 20 acres of land for the state, will re- sult. This land will be leased or sold for industrial purposes. It is esti- mated that the construction work will involve an expenditure of $5,000,000. * ES 2 Direct steamship service between Boston and Rumania and various Black sea ports has been undertaken by C. H. Sprague & Son, Boston. The first steamer sailed in November. Boston has never had such a line and _ its establishment opens up an_ excellent market for Massachusetts exports. The first cargo shipped consisted of boots and shoes, electrical machinery, agri- cultural implements and other New England commodities. ok x The American bureau of shipping, after exhaustive investigations has de- cided to place concrete ships in the experimental class. Full class, as has been desired, is denied. This announce- ment recently was made by Capt. C. A. McAllister, secretary of the bureau's classification society. The decision was reached 'after consultation with prom- jnent shipbuilders and naval architects of the United States. While opinion differed as to the smaller concrete ships, it was the concensus of opinion that vessels of 3500 tons were reliable, but those of larger register were not. The concrete ship has been given a similar class by Lloyds. eee Details have been given out regarding the method used to take a photograph of the Laurentic, which lies on the bottom of the Atlantic off the Donegal coast. The camera was enclosed in a watertight iron tank, tested to with- stand the pressure brought on it in 20 fathoms of water. The tank was fitted with a vessel's portlight glass. A diver took the apparatus down and electric bulbs were lowered from an admiralty 2a NNN MUA Bits From the Log of Progress Events of Interest to Those Engaged in Operating, Constructing and Outfitting Yards and Ships salvage steamer to procure light to take the picture.' An exposure of 1% hours was required to make the- photograph. The result was satisfactory. 2K K 2K The States Marine Co., Baltimore, re- cently inauguratea a steamship service between Baltimore, Gothenburg and other Scandinavian ports. At the pres- ent time, the company is maintaining a monthly service which will be made more frequent when commerce warrants placing' on additional steamers. The company originally intended to main- tain services between Baltimore, Genoa and other ports on the west coast of Italy. Shipping board vessels are used on the line. James Donald, who is president of the States Marine Co., is also president of the States Marine & Commercial Co. The States Marine Co. is the nineteenth marine enterprise to locate in Baltimore. ok 3k * The steamer K. I. LuUCKENBACH is at the south plant of the Baltimore Dry Docks & Shipbuilding Co., Baltimore, for reconditioning. army transport and will be converted into a cargo carrier. This is the fourth Luckenbach ship to be reconditioned at the Baltimore plant. Among other ships being refitted there are the troopships LANCASTER and Lgperator, which will become regular cargo carriers. They will operate out of Baltimore. Robert Ramsay is the managing director who will operate these two vessels for the shipping board. One of the ships will be assigned to the Liverpool route while the other will operate on the Rotterdam run. ee According to Sir Frederick William Lewis, the new chairman of Furness Withy & Co., the efficiency of ships is fully one-third less than it was before the war. Some of the views expressed by Sir Frederick, according to the Journal of Commerce, are: The effi- ciency of tonnage owing to the delays of coaling, docking and loading is at least one-third less than it was prior to the war. The world has a surplus tonnage at the present time. In June there was 47,500,000 gross tons which is 2,500,000 in excess of the prewar total. After the next few months there will be a gradual decline in freight 594 She served as an IIIA ii rates. America, having created a great merchant marine, cannot be expected to scrap either her shipbuilding yards or her ships. The port congestion of Great Britain: is becoming a passing phase in ship operation. ee Announcement was recently made by W. W. Tingle, a district agent for the shipping board, that several. additional vessels would be allocated to Baltimore. Mr. Tingle also stated that the booking of cargoes for the Liverpool and Rot- terdam lines had been completely filled and that there was an urgent demand for more ships for this service. 1K * 2K Great Britain welcomes the growth of the American merchant marine, accord- ing. to Marshall Stevens, one..of .the founders of the Manchester ship canal. "Great Britain,' he said, "feels that the world is large enough for both Great Britain and the United States to thrive as maritime nations as there is 'plenty to be done in common." Mr. Stevens suggested several lines, among them be- ing a triangular route from Manchester to Brazil and thence to New York. He pointed out that this would eliminate the bringing of empty bottoms westward as the United States is not importing heavily from' Europe at present while 'South American countries continue to be large buyers. i ee The fifteenth annual convention of the National Rivers and Harbors con- gress will be held on Dec. 9-11 at Wash- ington. The convention is called for the purpose of discussing legislation needed for protecting and developing transporta- tion and to secure co-operation between railways and waterways. ek The Osaka Shosen Kaisha recently is- sued its business report for the half year ending June 30, 1919. The report shows that the company owns a. total of 127 steamers with a tonnage of 325,072 gross, 25 steam launches and 5 gasoline boats, making a total of 157 vessels. It also has under charter 182 vessels with a gross tonnage of 383,389. The company made a net profit of 12,169,960 yen, equaling approximately $6,000,000.