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ahead. In any case a survey would help. This plan should be applied to all types of floating equipment from harbor tugs and river towboats to ocean liners. Where the new ves- sels are to replace existing units, some definite arrangement must be made for the lay-up and retirement from service or sale for scrap of the units so replaced. In working out a plan of this kind three im- portant objectives would be attained. Heavy industry would be stimulated and employment would be provided. Service to shippers and other patrons of waterlines would be improved. And by these expenditures valuable, useful property would be created. Regardless of the question of financing, which would undoubtedly require congressional ac- tion, we believe that this preliminary step of a country-wide survey of floating property in all categories to determine its needs to place it on an efficient basis would in itself serve as an important move in overcoming the present lethargy in merchant shipbuilding. + ¢ ¢ British Motorship Building Shows Marked Gain In the first and second decades after the in- troduction of the diesel engine for marine servy- ice, Britain, in proportion to the extent of its merchant marine, moved rather cautiously in the adoption of this type of power as compared with other maritime nations with the exception of the United States. Having developed the steam marine engine, both reciprocating and turbine, to a high state of perfection in effi- ciency and dependability, British marine en- gineers were reluctant both by training and tradition to change quickly to this new type of motive power. However, during this time British engineers and engine builders were con- stantly at work keeping in close touch with all developments and improvements in the diesel engine and were themselves contributing to- ward its perfection for marine service. The result has been a steady increase in the volume of motorships, under construction in shipyards of Great Britain and Ireland. Now comes the revealing information from figures issued by Lloyd’s Register of Shipping that for the quarter ended June 30 the increase in the building of motorships by Great Britain and Ireland was more than 100,000 gross tons over the previous quarter while the gain in all other types of vessels over the same period was only 33,000 tons. For the first time in history Great Britain and Ireland are now devoting almost 50 per cent of their construction to motorships. The exact proportion of motorships as com- pared with steamships under construction in Great Britain and Ireland in the quarter end- ing June 30 was 47.6 per cent as compared with 36.5 per cent at the end of March. Of the total 587,142 gross tons of merchant vessels of 100 gross tons and over building in Great Britain and Ireland on June 30 last, 279,632 gross tons were motorships while 307,510 gross tons were other types. This impetus to motorship building in Great Britain and Ireland has increased motorship building in the world to 57 per cent of all mer- chant ships under construction, the remaining 43 per cent being composed of vessels of all other types. For all other countries, that is, outside of Great Britain and Ireland, taken as a group, the total present construction of mo- torships is 65.6 per cent of all its merchant ship- building which may be compared to 69.1 per cent for this group at the end of March. In the meantime what is the situation in the United States in regard to the building of mo- torships? On June 380 last the United States had under construction, according to Lloyd’s figures, a total of 6319 gross tons of motorships out of a total construction of all types of mer- chant ships of 27,581 grosstons. In other words at the end of June last only 22.9 per cent of the pitifully small total of merchant vessels un- der construction in the United States was in motorships. It is hazardous to attempt to draw any hard and fast conclusions from these statistics. The total amount of mercantile shipbuilding in the United States at the present time is too in- significant to do so. The fact remains, however, that in the United States the diesel engine for marine service has been widely adopted in lesser powers for smaller vessels and in these sizes has established a solid reputation for effi- ciency and dependability while there is still evident a definite reluctance to accept this type of power generally for larger vessels. Of the eight merchant vessels under con- struction in the United States on May 15, four tankers each of 1200 gross tons were fitted with diesel engines in two units for each ves- sel, totaling 800 to 850 horsepower, that is, in- dividual engines of 400 to 425 horsepower. One tanker of 600 gross tons was fitted with diesel electric machinery consisting of two engines each of 250 horsepower. One passenger and cargo vessel of 1400 gross tons will have two diesel engines each of 1000 horsepower. The remaining two vessels are tankers, each of 9100 8 MARINE REVIEw—August, 1934