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_ ing voyages HE report of the International l Convention on Safety of Life at Sea was published on Feb. 16 and is now accessible in pamphlet form. It occupies 64 pages of letter press and is printed in French and English. In Article I the contracting nations un- dertake to give effect to the pro- visions of 'the convention, to promul- gate all regulations and to take all steps which may be necessary to give thé convention full and complete ef- fect. Article II states that, except where otherwise provided, the merchant ships of any of the states of the high contract- ing parties, which are. mechanically pro- pelled, which carry more than 12 passengers and which proceed from a port of one of the said states to a port situated outside that state, or conversely, are subject to the provisions of this con- - vention. Ports situated in the col- onies, possessions or protectorates of the high contracting parties are con- sidered to be ports outside the state. There are excepted from the conven- tion, save in the cases where the con-. vention otherwise provides, ships mak- specified in a_ schedule to be communicated by each high con- tracting party to the -British. govern- ment. at the time of ratifying the con- vention. No schedule may include voyages in the course of which the ships go more than 200 sea miles from the nearest coast. Construction Chapter IV deals with the construc- tion of new and existing ships. New ships are those the keels of which are laid after July 1, 1915; other ships are considered as existing ships. Ex- isting arrangements on the latter shall be considered by the administration of the state to which the ships belong, with a view to improvements provid- ing increased safety where practicable -and_ reasonable. Ships are to be as efficiently sub- divided as is possible having regard to the nature of the service for which they are intended. The requirements are such that the highest degree of safety corresponds with the ships of greatest length primarily engaged in the carriage of passengers The meth- _od to be followed in order to deter- mine. the permissible length. of com- 'partments on the basis of the flood- able length, to: prescribe a limit to Safety at Sea A Condensation of the Proceedings of the Con- vention in So Far as They Affect Ship Builders the length of compartments, and to fix the conditions governing certain - special cases, is as follows: Diefiations is the water the sub- The load water line line used in determining division of the ship. The length of the ship is the ex- treme length at the load water line. The breadth of the ship is the ex- treme width from outside of frame to outside of frame at or below the load water line. The bulkhead deck is the uppermost continuous deck to which all trans- verse water-tight bulkheads are cCar- ried. The margin line is a line drawn par- allel to the bulkhead deck at side line, and 3 in. below the upper surface of the deck at side. The draught is the eee ical distance from the top of keel amidships to the -load water line. 'The: freeboard is the vertical dis- tance from. the load water line to the margin line amidships. The depth of the ship is the sum of the draught and freeboard as above defined. The sheer of the bulkhead deck at any point is' the vertical distance be- tween the beam at side line at that point and a line drawn parallel to the load water line at the height of the beam at side line amidships. If block coefficient of fineness of displacement to load water line is used, this coefficient shall be deter- mined as follows: Volume of displacement to molded lines. Length X Breadth X Draught. The permeability of a space is the percentage of that space which can be occupied by water. The volume of a compartment which extends above the margin line shall be measured only to the height of that line. Volumes shall be under- stood as volumes to molded lines. The machinery space is to be taken as extending in length between the extreme main transverse watertight bulkheads bounding the spaces devot- ed to the main and auxiliary propelling machinery, including boilers when in- stalled. Article VI of the regulations states that the floodable length at any point of trim after damage, of the length of a ship shall be deter- mined taking into consideration form, draught and other limiting character- istics of the ship in question. This floodable length for a given point in a ship. with a continuous bulkhead deck is the maximum percentage of the length of the ship (having its center at the point in question) which can be flooded, under the definite as- sumptions relating to the permeabili- ties of the spaces in question below the margin line, without the ship being submerged beyond the margin line. In the case of ships not having a con- tinuous bulkhead deck, the floodable length must be such as to secure to the ship in question, for each portion of its length, and for all conditions a measure of safety at least equal in effectiveness to that laid down for the ship with continuous bulkhead deck. In determining the floodable length a uniform average permeability shall be used throughout the whole length of the machinery space, the portion forward of the machinery space, and the portion abaft the machinery space. For steamships the permeability of the machinery space, including the double bottom in wake thereof, shall be taken as 80 per cent. For ships fitted with internal-combustion en- gines the corresponding permeability shall be taken as 85 per cent, unless it is proved by actual calculation that a lower figure may be adopted, pro- vided that in no case shall that fig- ure be less than 80 per cent. - Permeability The permeabilities for spaces forward and aft of the machinery space shall be as follows: (a) Sixty per. cent in cargo spaces, bunkers (permanent or reserve), store- -rooms, baggage and mail rooms, chain lockers, watertight shaft or pipe tun- nels, and fresh water tanks above the double bottom. It must be proved that these spaces just enumerated are practicable for the purposes intended, and that they are to be so used. The Same permeability shall not be as- Signed to any other space without the approval of the administration. (b) Ninety-five per cent in passen- ger and crew spaces, peaks, trimming tanks. exclusively so used, double bot- toms, and all other spaces not spe- cifically appropriated to one of the