The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Latest Data on New Marine Work Information on New Ships Ordered—Building and Repair Con- tracts Let—Shipping Board Loans Made, Authorized or Pending Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. show that considerable new work is under way at that plant. This yard is building the scout cruiser Avaeusta for the navy and it is expect- ed that the vessel will be delivered during February, 1931. Two vessels are under construction for the Dollar Steamship Lines Inc., the first of which has already been launched and is to be delivered some time in July. The second vessel will probably be de- livered in October or November, 1931. The S. S. Froriwa, building for the Peninsular & Occidental Steamship Co., is to be launched some time in March and delivered in May, 1931. The company is also building three vessels for the United Mail Steam- ship Co., a subsidiary of the United Fruit Co. Deliveries of these new vessels are expected to be made in De- cember, 1931, February, 1932, and April, 1932. The company recently received a contract from the navy de- partment for the construction of an airplane carrier. The Newport News yard was recently the low bidder for the construction of three vessels for the Colombian Steamship lines and also three vessels for the Eastern Steamship lines. Contracts for build- ing these new vessels have not as yet been signed because of other mat- ters which must be decided by the owners before proceeding with the construction. RR ses from Newport News The department of commerce re- ports that American shipyards to Nov. 1. were under contract to build, for private ship owners, 127 vessels aggregating 366,404 tons. Bids Asked on Patrol Boats The United States coast guard has invited bids for building five or six or seven 165-foot patrol boats as de- scribed in the specifications dated Nov. 1930, and shown on the design plans. The bids for the construction of these patrol boats will be opened at 2:00 p.m., Jan. 5, 1931. Particulars of the boats are: Length, over all 165 feet 0 inch; beam, molded, at main deck 25 feet 3 inches; displacement, full load, about 300 tons; diesel en- gines, twin screw shaft horsepower, total 1300. The first boat shall be completed and delivered not more than 300 days after date of receipt of notice to pro- ceed and subsequent boats shall be 42 completed and delivered at intervals of not more than 25 days. Delivery dates may be anticipated as desired by the contractor. - Specifications and drawings for the boats may be obtained by shipbuild- ing companies from the command- ant, United States coast guard, treas- ury department, Washington, D. C. Bidders must possess satisfactory financial resources, technical organi- zation, and plant facilties to assure full completion of the boats in the contract time. Attention is invited to paragraph 16 of the standard govern- ment instructions to bidders: No de- posit for plans, bid bond 25 per cent of bid, performance bond 75 per cent of bid, liquidated damages $100.00 per day per boat, partial payments will be made. Build Largest Dry Dock The world’s biggest dry dock will be built at Southampton to accommo- date the new giant Cunarder, it was announced Nov. 28 by the Southern railway, which will build it, with government assistance. The new dock will be 1200 feet long 135 feet wide, and 45 feet deep. The Southern railway directors also have decided to begin immediate- ly on the second stage of the South- ampton docks extension project. These two works will provide employment for a considerable number of persons for some years, and will ensure South- ampton keeping its place among the world’s best equipped and most effi- cient ports. The entire project will cost about $65,000,000. The railway company intends to re- claim about 200 acres of mud land, now washed by the tide, for industrial sites close to deep-water berths. Work on the first part of the scheme, which is to cost $15,000,000, is nearly com- plete. New Liner Leaves Yard The new _ turbine electric liner ORIENTE left the yards of the New- port News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. Dec. 17 and arrived in New York the following morning. This latest addition to the American merchant marine tied up at Pier 14 East River, foot of Wall street, and underwent a careful grooming preparatory to sail- ing on her maiden voyage for Ha- vana. The ORIENTE is the second vessel in MARINE REVIEwW—January, 1931 a $10,000,000 shipbuilding program of two sister ships to be completed in the last several weeks by the Agyj lines for the Ward line’s New York. Havana express service. The first vessel, the Morro CastTitr, which re. cently entered service, has exceeded the expectations of her owners and judging from the ORImntTr’s perform. ances on her sea trials of a few weeks ago she will make her sistership look to her laurels. Like the Morro CaAstTLe, the Ortents will maintain an average sea speed of 20 knots which means that these ves- sels have the distinction of being probably the _ fastest turbo-electric liners afloat. This speed will also en- able the liners to cover the distance between New York and Havana in the fast time of 60 hours, a consider- able improvement over the Ward line’s former running time of 172 hours. This improved speed also brings the new vessels within strik- ing distance of the best rail time be- tween New York and Havana which is 45 hours and includes transfer at Key West to steamer. : The ORIENTE and Morro CASTLE are vessels with a length of 508 feet with a beam of 70 feet 9 inches. Each has luxurious accommodations for about 500 passengers. The vessels are identical with the exception of in- terior decorations of the public rooms and staterooms which gives each a distinctive note. The lighthouse service of the de partment of commerce has awarded contracts for two tenders to the Hampton Roads Ship Building Co., Portsmouth, Va., the contracts being $342,975 and $344,975 respectively. Launch Steam Tanker The steam tanker ComMeET was SRE ORS es CADE yet ED RR SEER Ee SEEN ECE Bm TT CUES launched recently from the yards of — the Sun Shipbuilding and Drydock Co. at Chester. The vessel was christened by Miss Gwendolyn B. Corwin, .of New York. The Comet was built by the Sun company for the Standard Transporta- tion Co., a subsidiary of the Standard Oil Co., of New York. The vessel is 9000 tons gross, is 480 feet in length by 65 feet 9 inches beam and has 4 depth of 37 feet. Unlike many of the craft now being built with diesel engines, the ComEsT will be equipped with steam recipro- cating type of propelling power.