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European Shipping (Continued from Page 11) it is carried in carbon-dioxide it has proved rather an expensive matter and a good deal of leakage appears to be inevitable. Lately several con- signments have come across in safe- ty without the help of gas, and al- though of course it is a much bigger risk there are many in the meat busi- ness who consider that it is the sys- tem of the future. Increased Transatlantic Trade The Huropean shipping companies on the North Atlantic are all rejoic- ing in an appreciable improvement in bookings, but, like the British ship- building employment the improve- ment is only comparative and up to now it has not been in any way suf- ficient to justify the companies in altering the yachting program which employ a good many Atlantic liners. These cruises are well booked this year, especially in the cabin and tour- ist classes and the shorter cruises, but the loss of the North German Llyod liner DrespeN while cruising in Norway has brought to the surface a question that has been in the minds of underwriters for some time past, whether the yachting business does not introduce an undue risk by send- ing big liners, designed for and usu- ally employed on a direct service with the minimum of calls, into any number of odd ports and inlets, many of which are not at all accustomed to handling such tonnage. It is a question that is likely to be dis- cussed fully before the new year. Both Cunarder 534 and the French liner NORMANDIE are making steady progress and, both having taken a firm hold of the public imagination, they are a subject of innumerable rumors of which the great majority are absolutely without foundation. One of these was that the NorMAN- DIE was to be drastically altered be- fore she went on service, lengthened and given a tonnage that would make her the biggest ship in the world. It would seem to be almost unnecessary for the company to is- sue a denial of this report. Length- ening a ship of that size is not a mat- ter that can be arranged with a stroke of the pen as some people seem to imagine. While the Your- kovitch hull has not yet been tried, the French line has not the least reason to believe that it will in any way fail in its promise. The international tanker _ pool, which now embraces nearly all the free tanker tonnage in Europe, is still in too early a stage to justify any prophecy as to its ultimate re- sults but the hard-hit tanker owners are certainly not too pleased to have their contributions increased, while the definite policy of the pool, to dis- 36 courage new construction, is raising some doubts in the minds of Brit- ish tank owners. Taken on the av- erage, the free British tankers are older than the Norwegian, whose owners placed a large number of or- ders in 1929 and 1930, so that any check in building may lead to the British proportion of tankers on the free market dropping considerably as the existing ships go to the scrappers and the business passing more or less entirely into the hands of the Nor- wegians. Condition of Russian Shipbuilding In Russia it is now quite clear, and admitted in the official press which only publishes what it is told by the Moscow authorities, that the shipping and shipbuilding sections will be the weakest links in the five year plans. At the present time the press is talking about sabotage, with rather sinister hints of disciplinary action, but it publishes facts and fig- ures which are illuminating. In the shipbuilding line it was the aim of the administration to build up a big fleet consisting entirely of mod- ern motorships built in Russia, the old naval establishments of the ezar- ist regime being used for the pur- pose, But the ships, although well built, have been a long time under construction and the diesel engines even longer, practically every mo- torship being held up owing to de- layed delivery of the engines. De- spite this fact there is talk of the newer ships being diesel electric, which would appear to the outsider to multiply the problems many times. On the shipping side, in which it is the aim of the authorities to have all Russian overseas trade, not the usual 50 per cent, carried by Russian ships, the figures for 1932, which are the last ones available, show that only 27.8 per cent of the plan for that year was fulfilled and from the tone of the newspapers already mentioned it would seem that matters have not improved much since. Develop New Texas Port Port Isabel, Texas, is the newest Gulf port. At the present time there is a depth of 14 feet of water across the outside bar with 25 feet inside of the bar for approximately 3%, miles to the port commission’s dock facilities. Within the next few months it is expected that the goy- ernment will complete the dredging of the outer bar to a depth of 25 feet. Contract for the erection of a transit shed were let on July 5 and it was expected that these facilities will be completed about Sept. 15. If these plans are carried out on time, Port Isabel should be opened for waterborne commerce by Oct. 1. MARINE REviEw—August, 1934 Marked Trade Increase at Los Angeles During the month of June, at Los Angeles, exports amounted to $7,410,- 000 in value compared with $4,329,678 in June of last year, an increase of 71 per cent. Imports reached a total of $6,263,000 compared with $1,970,- 905, in June 1933, an increase of 218 per cent. A portion of these increases were caused by diversion to this port of commerce which would normally move through other Pacific ports, but even aside from such diversion, the in- crease was substantial. The figures for the month of June are only pre- liminary and part of the commerce is estimated. The final total may be even higher than the figures given. For the year ending June 30, 1934, exports aggregated $67,512,000, an in- crease of more than $15,000,000, or 30 per cent Over the previous year. Im- ports amounted to $38,975,000, an in- crease of approximately $16,500,000, or 73 per cent over the previous year. The gains in tonnage were not as great rroportionately, inasmuch as_ prices are now higher. The diversion of traffic to this port owing to strike conditions elsewhere is very noticeable in shipments to Hawaii, which aggregated $1,842,000 in June, compared with $641,000 in June of last year, or nearly three times as much. Whereas other Pacific ports have practically closed up for the past two months, there were 563 ship arrivals at Los Angeles in June, and the av- erage for the year was 590 ships per month. When it is considered that lumber and coastwise traffic were prac- tically eliminated for 60 days it will be noted that off-shore and _ inter- coastal were practically normal. Red “D” Offers Cruises The Red “D” Steamship line, which has been operating vessels between the United States and Venezuela for ap- proximately 100 years, is now, for the first time, entering the inclusive price cruise business. For several generations the Red “D” line has maintained a regular pas- senger service from New York to San Juan, Puerto Rico, La Guayra, Puerto Gabello and Maracaibo in Venezuela, and the Dutch island of Curacao with sailings every week. Since May 9 the company has been offering a 13-day cruise with three days at San Juan and a 21-day cruise with stops at four ports, In addition to the liners CARABOBO and CARACAS, carrying 100 to 150 pas- sengers each, the Red “D” line has three freighters, the FaLcon, TACHIRO, and LARA, with limited passenger ac- commodations.