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‘Latest Data on New Marine Work Information on New Ships Ordered—Building and Repair Con- tracts Let—Shipping Board Loans Made, Authorized or Pending ver of the Free-Vandenburg bill, which establishes the in- terest rates on ship loans granted by the United States shipping board un- der provisions of the J ones-White act, will encourage ship construction and protect coastwise and intercoastal ship operators according to opinions of leading shipping authorities. This new bill fixes the rates of interest on loans granted for construction of ships for the foreign trade at 34% per cent while for loans for vessels to be built for the coastwise trades, the rate becomes 514 per cent. Under provisions of the Jones- White act, the rate of interest which the builders of ships for foreign trade had to pay was based on the amount of interest paid by the government in the open market. Frequent fluctua- tion in the government interest rate resulted in the obtaining by some ship owners of extremely low rates. The law controlling construction loans is amended by the new bill to read as follows: ‘‘All such loans shall bear interest at such rates as follows, payable not less frequently than annually: Dur- ing any period in which the vessel is operated exclusively in the coastwise trade, or is inactive, the rate of in- terest shall be as fixed by the ship- ping board but not less than 5% per cent per annum. During the period in which a vessel is being construc- ed, equipped, reconditioned, remod- eled or improved; and/or during any period in which such a vessel is op- erated in foreign trade, the rate shall be as fixed by the board but pro- vided, however, that on all contracts Te: signing by President Hoo- hereinafter entered into the interest rate shall be not less than 3% per cent per annum. “The lowest rate of interest shall not be granted for the construction, equipment, reconditioning, remodel- ing or improvement of any vessel for the foreign trade unless it is con- tracted that such vessel upon com- pletion shall not be operated exclu- sively or under enrollment in the coastwise or intercoastal trade for more than three months in any cal- endar year and if such vessel shall be operated exclusively and under en- rollment in such trades for more: than three months in any calendar year the board shall collect the dif- ference between the low rate of in- terest charged and 5% per cent per annum during the period of construc- tion, equipment, reconditioning, re- modeling or improvement. The board 34 may prescribe rules for determining the amount of interest payable under the provisions of this paragraph.” Cruiser Contract Awarded Camden Shipyard Contract for constructing the hull and machinery for light cruiser No. 37 was awarded Feb. 14 by the navy department to the New York Ship- building Co. of Camden, N. J., on a bid of $10,450,000. This vessel is to be the last of the 10,000 ton 8-inch gun cruisers to be laid down before 1933. The bid of the New York Shipbuilding Co. was the lowest of three made. The construction is to be completed within 36 months. The cruiser will be 600-feet long overall with an extreme beam of 64 feet 1144 inches and a mean draft of 17 feet 7 inches. The vessel will be equipped with turbine propelling equipment totaling 107,000 horse- power. She will carry nine 8-inch guns in three turrets and four 5-inch antiaircraft guns. She will be equipped with two torpedo tubes and will carry four observation planes. Her personnel will consist of 49 officers and 553 enlisted men. Plan Auto-Passenger Ferry Joseph M. Dyer, naval architect, Astoria, Oreg., is completing plans for a wood automobile and passenger ferry for the Astoria & North Beach Ferry Co. Dimensions are: Length, 120 feet overall; moulded beam, 36 feet; draft 7 feet. The hull will be V bottom with a semi-tunnel stern ren- dered necessary by the draft require- ments. Power to be installed has not been selected but 500 horsepower en- gines, calculated to develop a speed of 14 to 15 miles, are planned. Ca- pacity will be 35 automobiles and will include accommodations for a large number of passengers in well ap- pointed cabins and saloon. Navy Yard to Repair Cutter According to an announcement made by F. A. Hunnewell, superin- tendent of construction and repair, United States coast guard, decision has been made, after careful consid- eration of all the factors involved, to perform the work of repair and alter- ation of the coast guard cutter UNAL- GA, at the United States navy yard, MARINE REVIEW—M arch, 1931 Philadelphia. The bid, totaling $63. 047 of which $35,170 was for hull and $27,877 for machinery, was the low- est of ten offered. The highest piq was presented by the New York navy yard and amounted to $99,946 of which $67,646 was for hull and $32. 300 for machinery. Other bids were as follows: Norfolk navy yard, $68. 500; Maryland Dry Dock Co., $71, 179; Todd Dry Dock Engineering & Repair Corp., $77,500; Norfolk Ship- building & Dry Dock Corp., $82,136; Brewer Dry Dock Corp., $84,950; United Dry Docks, Inc., $86,660; Ira * §. Bushey & Sons, Inc., $91,821; and Old Dominion Marine Railway Corp., $98,500. Ford to Dieselize Ship Permission was given the Ford Mo- tor Co. by the shipping board Feb. 18, to convert the lake type vessel, LAKE SHAWANO to a motorship. The vessel was one of 199 similar type ships purchased from the shipping board in 1925 with the understanding that they be scrapped or, in the case of ten of the ships, upon payment of an addi- tional sum that they be converted into barges. In the case of the LAKE SHAWANO, the board has agreed to permit the Ford company to convert the vessel to a diesel ship upon pay- ment of this additional purchase price. The vessel is a steel cargo steamer of approximately 3300 dead- weight tons. Liner Nears Completion. The Presipent Hoover, new electric Dollar liner now nearing completion at Newport News, Va., is scheduled for her trial trip on or about June 15. On July 27 she will leave New York on her maiden trip to China and re- turn via the Panama canal. She will not only be the first large passenger vessel on that run to go to China from New York and return, but will also be the first American-built, electrical- ly propelled ship to cross the Pacific. Her propulsion equipment—supplied by the General Electric Co. will give her a maximum speed of 21 knots. The Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. at Newport News is now finishing the holds of the vessel, com pleting the decking and foundations, and installing the auxiliary machin- ery and cables. In about two months, work will be started on the joinery and interior decorating.