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68 are liable to fracture and other engine troubles may develop. The best safe- suard against these difficulties will be -to see that the vessels are well con- structed and that speedy construction is not insisted upon to the detriment of economy and efficiency. 71TH the war over, the shipping board has formally announced its intention to concentrate on ships of larger tonnage; suitable for special service. The new program calls for ships built with a regard more to economy than to speedy construction. On the eve of his departure for Eu- rope, Chairman Hurley announced: | “For two months the shipping board THE MARINE REVIEW much left for cargo in overseas serv- ice.” It stands to reason that if a 3500- ion ship can be operated in overseas service, a ship of that size should prove commercially profitable in the coast- wise trade. But larger ships have been built and are building. “We have a 10,000-ton troop ship,” explained Mr. Ferris. “She makes from 16 to 1714 knots. The next we have is a 10,000-ton tanker and also a 750U-ton tanker. “Then we have an 8000-ton semicargo and troop ship. That ship is an inter- mediate cargo ship, and she makes 15 knots. That is a class of ship that will be good after the war and is a good WESTERN COASTING VESSEL OF A TYPE WHICH IS IN ALMOST CONSTANT DEMAND FOR CARRYING LUMBER AND OTHER COMMODITIES UP AND DOWN THE PACIFIC COAST has been making a complete resurvey of its construction program and con- tracts. Believing that the emergency war pressure which necessitated the speediest construction possible would soon end, the investigation has been with a view to a replanning of the ships to be constructed from this date lur- ward. It is planned that from now on ships will be built with special refer- suitability for special service, and with particular reference to the ecouomical cost of operation, including motive power, cargo space, and speed. “It is also planned that these shall ‘be built with -reference to probable trade uses and trade lines so as to ‘adapt them to particular uses and to increase the speed of the turn-around of the ship—this because every unneces- ‘sary delay in loading and unloading ‘must be eliminated.” (ore tai HEN Theodore FE. Ferris, naval architect, was describing the size ‘of government built ships to the senate commerce committee last year, he ‘pointed out that a certain minimum in size was determined upon because of the economy in operation. “When we settled on 3500 tons,” said Mr. Ferris, “we felt that was the mini- mum size of ship it would pay to operaie in ocean service, on account of the large bunker capacity, crew space, and everything. There would not be LINER KROONLAND, A 12,000-TON VESSEL—THIS SIZE OF CRAFT IS CONSIDERED BY MANY AN ECONOMICAL TYPE FOR PRESENT AND FUTURE OCEAN SERVICE ship now. It has good speed and can carry troops. There is the fabricated type of ship of 5000, 7500 and 9400 tons. Then we have a lake-type of ship of 3300 and 3500 tons.” As an examination of the production records will show, the vessels delivered are chiefly those of the smaller sizes. Relatively few of the larger boats have been completed and it is in that type of boat that the American marine is now sadly deficient. Some authorities insist that even the 4000 and the 5000- ton ships are relatively small for ocean service and are better adapted to the coastwise trade. On the other hand a ship of 9000 or 10,000 tons can be operated much more economically in the ocean service because of the rela- February, tively small proportion of space requ for fuel, and large space for car The public is inclined to think mostly of the large vessels and forget the vas number of small craft which carry t bulk of the ocean freight of the worle Prior to the war, it was pointed out | by one prominent shipbuilder, the world’s. A merchant fleets contained but 2000 ships which registered over 4000 tons each. Prominent shipping lines own more small vessels than large. Of course, many of these smaller ships were in- herited from former years and the ~ large vessels are the acquisition of more mature years of experience. But despite the possession of the larger vessels, these same lines find that they can still earn profits from their small ships. small ship can put into ports A closed to larger vessels. A small ship can engage in trade, navigate far inland over river routes, and obtain freights which are denied larger ves- sels. The successful operation of the big ocean lines depends upon adequate terminal facilities. It -means the own- ing of large docks and wharves with easy access to inland railroad connec- tions. Furthermore, these ships must be supplied with a constant stream of freight. With the United States government itself now in — virtual ‘control’. -o* both the railroads and the ship lines of America, this closer development of the transportation facilities can, of course, be carried out. If it is ever intended, however, to return the rail-— roads and the ships to private owners and operators a different situation will present itself, Many shipping men consider it a merit to pattern after England inas- much as England has had such signal success in building and operating mer- chant ships. There is good reason for this even when the question of size is at issue. England has been _ building standardized ships. She has been build- ing fabricated ships as well. Her standardized ships vary from 5000 to 10,000 gross tons. In_ size, therefore,