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_ shipbuilding yards. 362 British eolase Idle Germans Are Active Recent returns from 36 of the prin- cipal ports of the United Kingdom show that 1160 ships representing 1,- 707,262 net tons are laid. up and out of commission indefinitely. This com- pares. with 611 vessels representing 940,- 564 net tons at the end of January. as MARINE REVIEW Some improvement was. shown in March, and the serious reaction is at- tributed solely to the coal strike. The total number of British vessels en- gaged inthe foreign mercantile carrying trade at the end of last year was 4000. British shipowners are impressed by the stagnation of British shipping and the remarkable activity at German perts. Entrances and clearances in the ~ August, 1921 overseas trade at Hamburg, which were 1,900,000 net tons in 1919, rose to nearly 7,000,000 tons last year. Formerly 60-- per cent of Hamburg's foreign trade was in German bottoms while the British share was about 30 per cent. Now, on a trade which has sunk to less than one-third of the 1913 volume, Germany has 24 per cent, United States 23 per cent and England 21 per cent. British Ship Work Near Standstill in only isolated: cdses is any work being perfo.med in the The ports, are. so crowded with idle merchant and pas- senger vessels that it is difficult to Mic. any anchoring space. In the river. Tyne, over 200 vessels of ap- Bi shipping is still idle and proximately 260,000 tons net register are. laid up,.. This cessation. of, :the trade of the Tyne has resulted in a loss of revenue of about £100,000 ($400,000) to the Tyne commissions during the past 12 months. The seriousness of the present sit- uation has been aggravated by the con- tinuance of the miners' dispute which cuts out the Scandinavian ctistomers needing Northumberland coal. .About 80 per 'cent of the Northumberland output was shipped overseas. The de- cline in the Tyne coal shipping busi- ness is shown by the fact that the-e has been a decrease during 12 months of 1,871,690 tons compared with the corresponding period last year. This represents 14.72 per cent as compared with the year.1919 and a decrease of 9,456,904 tons--equal to 46.59 per cent as compared with 1913, the last pre- War year. Shipping companies are in the un- welcome position of having their de- pots stocked with coal acquired before the strike. But only sufficient quan- tities may be taken from those stocks to take vessels across the channel. Coal: is then obtained at continental ports. So serious was the consequence of this rationing of coal that several vessels sailed for the continent from the Hartlepools with pit props for bunkers. These conditions have brought into prominence the schemes for providing oil fuel facilities on the northeast coast. On the Tyne, much progress has been made to develop oil bunker- ing as an additional means of adding to the tradé of the river. Oil bunk- ering installations already exist at South Shields and Albert and Albert Edward dock. At Jarrow Slake, work From Our Middlesbrough Correspondent is proceeding on a new _ installation. It is hoped by these schemes to place the Tyne in the forefront of British ports capable of supplying vessels with either coal or oil fuel. * * * Drop in Ship Values An indication of the difficulties which British . shipbuilders have to face is provided by the reported sale of two newly 'built vessels. They were com- pleted to the orders of Italian buyers, who, however, found themselves unable for financial reasons to take delivery. These ships, it is stated, were sold last week in London to Spanish buyers at less than one-third of the original cost of production. ek Ce tanker Launched A further instance of the develop- ment of the oil propelled vessels is provided by the launch recently of the Liss at the Tees yard of the Fur- ness Shipbuilding Co. The vessel built to the order of Messrs. Krezi- masko, Christiania, Norway. The vessel has been built on the transverse system of framing, following the method of construction of several large oil tank ships now being com- pleted. In connection with the oil spaces, exceptionally good results were obtained when testing the oil fuel holds and bunkers. This was due to the Fur- ness method of designing the material to standard dimensions and rivet spac- ing so that multiple drilling is anntied as far as possible, thus insuring perfect workmanship. The Furness Shipbuild- ing Co. developed the multiple produc- tion methods with great success, and its system is noted for rapidity of construction and character of work- manship, a point which is of special importance in oil tank ships. The propelling machinery, supplied by Messrs. Richardsons Westgarth & Co., Ltd., Middlesbrough, consists of. a set of triple expansion engines, having cylinders 27, 45 and 75 inches diam- was. eters, stroke 5 inches, together with com- plete set of auxiliaries, including evapo- rator, auxiliary condenser, cascade filter and compensator heater. At the reception after the launch J. McGovern, managing director of the Furness company, referred to the com- ing of oil in the propulsion of vessels weich he prophesied would oust coal. He added that "the difficulties of oil fuel were well known, but the time was near when the oil tank steamer would be considered the right kind. to possess." ee New Vessels The record of launches on the Tyne during May shows that there was a re- duction of 7128 tons net register from the corresponding month last year. The first steel ship built at Amble was launched in June. Built to the order of the Jarrow Corp. she will ply between that town and Howden and will carry 650 passengers. The build- ers are the Amble Shipbuilding Co., successor to the Amble Ferro Concrete Co. Four other vessels are in course of construction. at this new yard. The steamer MrppLesex has been built and engined by Swan, Hunter & Wig- ham Richardson Ltd. at its Neptune Works, Newcastle, to the order of the Federal Steam Navization Co. Ltd., London. The steamer, which is of the most modern type, is designed to carry frozen meat and general cargo, holds and 'tween decks being insulated. for the former purpose. She will carry over 12,000 tons deadweight on a draft of about 29 feet. The boilers may be fired by either oil or coal. Launched from the shipbuilding yard of Messrs. William Hamilton & Co., Ltd., shipbuilders, Port Glasgow, the steel screw steamer Era, was built to the order of Messrs. Howard Smith, Ltd., for its Australian coal trade. The vessel which is of the poop, bridge and forecastle type, has been built under Lloyd's special survey, and has a dead- weight carrying capacity of 2350 tons.