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HE British Phosphate Co. has an teresting bulk handling opera- tion on the islands of Nauru in the South Pacific. This loading plant is designed to load ships at the rate of 550 tons an hour. Conveyors 3000 feet long transport the phospate from the quarries to a 12,000 ton storage bin which is constructed with a V- shaped bottom. The phosphate slides through a series of gates to a 550 foot conveyor installed in a tunnel below the bin. This conveyor feeds other conveyors leading out over the water to the movable cantilever struc- ture that carries the conveyor dis- charging into the telescopic chutes delivering the phosphate into the ship’s hold. Preparing slingloads in hold of vessel at sugar refinery, Crockett, Calif. Another conveyor installation has been constructed at Ocean Island, South Pacific, for handling the same kind of cargo. A Philadelphia stevedore_ dis- charged 1700 tons of pig iron from one hatch in eight hours, using three hooks to the deck and two overside. When loading case oil, the same stevedore handles eight cases to a sling and gets faster loading than other stevedores who put ten cases on a Sling. Hatch Covers in Sections HE Moore and McCormick Line’s hatch covers mentioned in the Octo- ber issue are constructed in three sections, across the hatch, instead of the usual single or double board covers. Ring bolts are placed in two corners so that the sections may be SE TTT TTT Tee page is being devoted to short items on all matters having to do with the more efficient turn- around of ships. These items are in- tended to be of a helpful nature. We will welcome for this page brief descriptions, illustrated if possible, of any better or safer way of perform- ing any function in cargo handling. Also, any questions submitted will be answered by the editor. ST TTTTTTTTSTTTTMITTTTTTTTETTTUTUTUCLCLCC UCU UCU TSOOOTUO UU TLCCTOPCUC lifted with ship’s gear. When a hatch is to be cleared, the wooden covers are placed to one side on the deck and the strongbacks are placed in an upright position opposite the hatch. The wooden covers are then picked’ up and placed on top of the strongbacks to form a platform for the hatch tender. The following is a record of the number of bags of raw sugar by two gangs at Crockett, Calif. in one day: Number of Hours bags handled 8-9 5264 9-10 5328 10-11 4608 11-12 4616 1-2 4870 2-3 4752 3-4 4528 4-5 4738 The new Oakland Outer Harbor terminals, Oakland Calif., have two warehouses in the rear of the cargo sheds which have been rented to two large packing companies. Cargo is transferred from warehouses to the sheds by tractors and trailers. Pneumatic handling of bulk ecar- goes has been developed to a con- siderable degree in England. Steam coal is unloaded from barges by this means in London. Dry chemicals also are handled in this manner. A large Coatswise line uses caster type trailers eight feet long instead of the standard six-foot type. The larger trailer was selected because the management found that the steep grades encountered into and out of side ports, often prevented a tractor handling two six-foot trailers, but the tractor could handle one eight-foot trailer, so that the average trailer load is heavier than if the smaller trailer were used. The same Coastwise line carries as many as 150 loaded trailers on its MARINE REvIEw—December, 1931 steamers making trips of several hun- dred miles in the open sea. Rope chocks around the caster wheels and tying groups of trailers in a unit, has made it possible to carry cargo on “wheels’’ with little difficulty. <A special wooden type chock has been developed recently which will prob- ably provide even better stowage. Carrying cargo on ‘‘wheels’”’ or on skids has proved very economical, speeding handling of cargo and dis- patch of ship to a remarkable de- gree, “Progress becomes rapid only when facts are organized and principles for- mulated.”—A Ilford. A special type sling has been de- veloped which will handle six drums at atime. Using a sling of this kind a carload of drums may be discharged in about twenty minutes. On Fitting Strongbacks NEW method of fitting strong- backs has been developed in England. The lugs in which the strongbacks usually rest are riveted to the vertical flange of the bulb angle which forms the top of the hatch coaming, instead of being riveted to the side of the hatch coam- ing. This method of fitting the lugs removes them from the _ location where there is the greatest danger from damage and increases the cubic of the square of the hatch. If the lugs should be damaged they can be more easily repaired since no staging is necessary. This design has been approved by Lloyds. Stowing lumber packed in steel strapped bundles to reduce handling and spoilage 41