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"mittee of August, 1921 association has appointed a special tech- nical committee to represent it in such matters. These problems have been handled chiefly at conferences between the navy department's architects and representa- tives of the shipbuilders, at which the shipowners were represented by ship- ping company officials whose experi- ence was not necessarily technical. These conferences Mave dealt with such highly technical subjects as subdivision of hull, and loadline, with the most vi- tally interested party, the owner, un- represented in the deliberations by a technical representative In naming its technical committee, the American Steamship Owners' asso- ciation has chosen men trained to deal with these intricate subjects as experts, but who at the same time are in close touch with the executive problems of the shipping business. The members of the committee are as follows: William Francis Gibbs, chief of construction, International Mer- eantile. Marine Co., chairman; Capt, 0. W. Koester, vice president in charge of construction, United States Mail Steamship Co; John H. Telford, super- intending engineer, Munson Steamship line; C.. A.. Ward; Jr., naval architect, Merchant Shipbuilding Corp., Chester, Pa.; A. S. Hebble, superintending engi- neer, Southern Pacific Co.; James Don- ald, president, States Marine & Commer- cial Co., Inc,; Warren T. Berry superin- tendent, marine construction, New Eng- land Steamship Co. This committee already has begun its labors by picking up the loose ends of plans for greater structural safety of American ships that had begun to take shape when the war began, but which led to nowhere because of the great upset in business caused by the war. head in the international convention of 1914 on safety at sea, which worked out regulations for the subdivision of ships by bulkheads, and establishment of loadline rules. Great Britain adopted the suggested rules, but this country did not. In the last congress, a load- line bill was introduced, and appeared to make some progress, but it died with the session. It is the aim of the technical com- the American Steamship Owners' association to take up the sub- ject with vigor. As a first step, Mr. Gibbs, its chairman, when recently in Great Britain, held conferences with representatives of the British board of trade, the chamber of shipping, which Corresponds to the owners' association here, and of Lloyd's, learning their methods. of handling the problems, regulations now in force, and proposed developments pertaining to loadline and bulkhead regulations. As a result of. these conferences, Mr. These plans were brought to a. MARINE REVi Gg Gibbs, who returned home a few weeks ago, gathered much important material for the use of his committee, which will have early consideration in shaping plans to be followed on. this side of the Atlantic, "We have no uniform rule of bulk- heads, and we have no loadline rules," said Mr. Gibbs on his return. "We 'Propose to get both. We also hope to co-operate with the classification societies, and with the department of commerce in working out better meth- ods on many points in the steamship inspection regulations, some of which are onerous and inadequate. What we want is safer ships, and simpler and more effective regulations for main- taining their standard of construction and equipment. It is a big job, but with the steamship owners behind it, we feel confident that it can be ac- complished without undue loss of time." Superheating Steam Cuts Operating Costs To the Editor of Marine REvIEW When the question of installation of superheaters is being considered, the thought will occur, "How. will it af- fect operating costs? How much fuel will it save?" In general the answer is that the 'saving is from 10-40. 12 peér cent for 200 degrees of superheat, which. are average results obtained in the oper- ation of nearly 200 ships. The present high price of all equip- ment entering into the construction of ships, results in considerable thought on the question of net returns on the investment. Because it renders a high return, especially in fuel saving, super- heated steam is of interest to vessel owners. Steam, when superheated, be- comes a more efficient working medium. Boilers, steam lines, engines, turbines, and auxiliaries become more economical and of greater effectiveness. Consideration by American vessel owners of how superheated steam re- duces ship operation costs, could be no more timely than at present. The Ameri- "can merchant marine is striving to gain a position on the seas of the world and this can be attained only by bring- ing the cargo rates in line with those now existing among" foreign +ship opera- tors. It is of importance that American ships, in order to compete successfully with ships operated by foreign compet- tors, be operated at a cost at least as low as those under foreign flags. An appreciation of the need of an extensive program in the application of economy producing factors. is evidenced by the active interest being taken in this subject. A prominent Dutch steam- ship company has 78 ships, 73 of aor are equipped with fire tube superheaters 'turbines are no less important. 383 using high degrees of superheat. Of this number, 18 are undergoing construc- tion or recently have been placed = in service. As a nation, the United States can not afford to take a passive attitude in meeting the relation which economy in fuel willshave on her ability to com- pete with such merchant marines as Great Britain and Japan. American en- gineers know the value of superheated steam, but its adoption must be passed upon by the operating officials who have the final say in such matters. Operating reciprocating | engines on superheated steam effects a great sav-. ing in fuel, either coal or oil. This sav- ing results in cylinder condensation, the greatest heat loss in the marine con- densing engine, being avoided. A's super- heated steam has a greater volume per pound than saturated steam, less steam is actually required for a given shaft horsepower. Less steam used means less water need be evaporated by the boilers and, hence, less fuel is required to do the work. " The advantages of superheated steam in With superheated steam no water enters' the turbine. Water or moisture is particul- larly damaging to steam turbines. It causes excessive friction and has a de- structive effect on turbine blades. The deterioration of the blades due to moisture is rapid, causing increased steam consumption and the necessity of reblading. Blade wear is.reduced through superheating and reblading 'Is necessary only after much longer periods of operation. There. are other parts. of a ship's mechanical equipment which are favorably affected by the -use of ' superheated steam. Auxiliary steam equipment, pumps, evaporators, filters, condensers, etc, are called upon to do less work, increasing their life and decreasing their maintenance cost. The use of super- heated steam on deck engines, winches, anchor engines, etc. should be applied because, when saturated steam is used, their operation suffers from excessive condensation due to their being located at long distances from the boilers sup- plying the steam. By using superheated steam, these engines will operate more effectively, with quicker response to the throttle and with greater power. Fuel economy effected by superheating has far reaching results. In planning new ships particularly, the saving in fuel is important because it makes it pos- sible to reduce bunker space, releasing nonrevenue producing bunker space for valuable income-producing cargo space. The deadweight ton mileage of a ship operating on superheated steam is in- creased; in many cases the speed of a vessel is increased, as is also its steam- ing radius. (Signed) ENGINEER