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French Line Will Continue Building Super Liner By Vincent Delport T THE annual general meeting A of the stockholders of the Compagnie Generale Transat- lantique, the leading French shipping concern, the annual report disclosed that for the financial year 1931 there was a loss of 368,991,573 frances (ap- proximately $14,400,000). Already in the previous year, 1930, a loss of 30,- 423,079 frances ($1,190,000) had been sustained; therefore, the total loss to date is 399,414,653 frances (approxi- mately $15,650,000). During the year 1931 the company had to face three problems: to keep the company going; to effect imme- diate and substantial economies; to in- tensify commercial activities. The efforts of the directorship were made with the co-operation of the state, and endeavors were made to facilitate the financial position by reducing debts and extending periods of payment. The report states that the whole world is suffering from the uncertainty of the general financial situation, from the increased tariff barriers, and from the restriction of foreign trade by means of quotas. Vessels Out of Commission On Jan. 1, 1932, 38 vessels from the company’s fleet, representing 206,131 gross tons out of a fleet of 90 vessels with a tonnage of 671,780 tons, were put out of commission; and at the time of the annual meet- ing, which was held on Aug. 2, eleven. more vessels were put out of commis- sion. Considerable economies have been effected in the management of the con- cern; and provisional figures show that during the first half of 1932 the expenditure of the company was re- duced by 95,000,000 frances ($3,700,- 000) in comparison with the expendi- ture for the first half of 1931. Referring to the construction of the liner, to be named PRESIDENT DOUMER, which is now on the stocks, it is stated that this vessel was ordered at the end of 1930, and construction was com- menced in January, 1931, to satisfy the undertaking given by the company in its contract with the state. This vessel, which will have a length of 313 meters (1026 feet 11% inches), a width of 36 meters (118 feet 1% inches), a gross tonnage approximate- ly 75,000 tons, a draft of 11.16 meters (36 feet 7144 inches), and a _ speed which may exceed 28 knots, is sched- The author, Vincent Delport, is man- ager of the London office of the Penton Publishing Co., publisher of MARINE R&- VIEW. uled to be put into service in 1934. This liner will be able to accommo- date more than 2000 passengers com- fortably, and is intended to ply be- tween France and New York. To Continue Building Super Liner In view of the distressing condi- tions now prevailing, the question has been discussed whether the construc- tion of this vessel should be suspend- ed, and it has been finally decided to carry on. Already 400,000,000 franes ($15,600,000) have been spent, and the financing of the building of the ves- sel is guaranteed by the French gov- ernment. It is pointed out that competitive countries have recently been forging ahead in this direction. Italy is in possession of two super-liners of about 53,000 tons, the Rex and the Contr pr SavorA, which enables the line to maintain a six-day service between Mediterranean ports and New York. The performance of the German Evurora and BREMEN are well known. While in Great Britain work is tem- porarily suspended on the superliner, which was started by the Cunard com- pany, it is expected that eventually this ship will be completed. There are, therefore, a number of fast vessels of large size plying across the Atlantic, and it is necessary for the French company to operate vessels of similar importance if the Compagnie Generale Transatlantique is to maintain its po- sition on the most important route in the world. Safety Measures Discussed at Annual Meeting URING the week of Oct. 3 to 7, many delegates from the marine industry of the United States will meet at the Wardman Park and the Shoreham hotels in Washington, to consider practical, co-operative meth- ods for the promotion of health and the reduction of accidents in this in- dustry. This program will be conducted by the marine section of the National Safety council, as a part of the twenty- first annual safety congress and exposi- tion. The general chairman of this section is John S. Hunter. The marine industry for 1931 showed an encouraging increased interest in programs for accident control. A total of 55 organizations with 62,000 em- ployes who worked 153,000,000 man- hours during the year reported their MARINE REvVIEW—October, 1932 accident experience to the National Safety council. This is a marked in- crease over the 28 units with an ex- posure of 50,000,000 man-hours which reported for the previous year. In the total the marine industry has one of the highest accident frequency and severity rates among all indus- tries. For 1931 there were an average of 24.28 accidents per 1,000,000 man- hours, and an average of 2.87 days lost per 1000 worked. This puts the industry, among the 28 major indus- trial groups, in 23rd place in frequen- cy of accidents and in 24th place in severity of accidents. The highest accident frequency rates were among liners, harbor equipment establishments, and in shipbuilding and repair plants. The lowest fre- quency rates were among _ harbor equipment, stevedoring, and tanker establishments... The highest severity rates were among liners and tankers. Only a few marine units which re- ported showed improvement during 1931 in both frequency and severity of accidents. However, a number of units made exceptional records during the year, proving that organized ac- cident prevention activities will bring results. The program of the marine section will begin Tuesday morning, Oct. 4, with “opening remarks’ by General Chairman John iS. Hunter. There will be election of officers and the fol- lowing additional features: Js Mari- time Safety Profitable?, by A. R. Bush, past general chairman; Medical As- pects of Safety Aboard Ships, by John Wright, claims manager, Export Steamship Corp.; an address by C. H. Flathers, insurance manager, Eastern Steamship lines. There also will be a discussion of 1933 safety contest rules. The Wednesday morning session will include papers on Ship’s Personnel with Reference to Safety, by H. W. Proom, claim agent, American Dia- mond lines; Gas Freeing and Cleaning Cargo Tanks, by A. B. Butterworth, president Butterworth System; Hmer- gency Illumination and Signalling, by A. F. Hubbard, president International Flare-Signal Co.; The Training of Officer Personnel for the Merchant Marine, by Capt. J. H. Tomb, United States navy, retired, superintendent, New York Merchant Marine academy. Also an address by F. M. Hobson, bur- eau of construction and repair, United States navy department. The Thursday morning session will include the following program: Venti- lation of Diesel Engines and Motor Rooms, by A. M. Tode, consulting ma- rine engineer; Safety From An Oper- ator’s Point of View, by Commander B. C. Edwards, United States Navy retired, port engineer, Grace line; an address by D. N. Hoover, supervising inspector general United States steam- boat inspection service; and Data on Marine Section Safety Contest and Awarding of National Safety Council Trophies, by A. M. Tode. 21