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\ 342 and will be completed in about six months; 250 men are working at the plant at Biloxi. * * * The Union Bridge & Construction Co., which has contracts for six wood- en vessels for the shipping board, has completed its plant at Morgan City, La. and work has begun on one of the boats. : ee .The Universal Shipbuilding Co., Hous- ton, Tex., announces it has closed con- Dost THE MARINE REVIEW tracts with the United States Emer- gency Fleet Corp. for the construction of 12 wooden steamers. Pee ee The Pan-American Trading Co. has purchased 3500 acres along Buffalo Bayou, near Houston, Tex., and has be- gun work on a shipyard for the con- struction of its own ships. The ways and shops for this yard are to be built over the water and contracts have been let by the company for cutting 1000 piles from its own land along the bayou. ook By George S. Hudson OSTON repair firms have figured largely in making ready for sea the German liners seized at that port. Among these concerns are the At- lantic Works; Bertlesen & Petersen, of East Boston and the Boston Engineering Co., Boston. Although the ships were badly damaged by wholesale acts of vandalism, the Boston firms. have suc- ceeded in making the ships seaworthy and have turned them over to the gov- ernment well within the time specified in the contracts. This work was ac- complished by employing largely aug- mented gangs of machinists and other artisans. The Atlantic Works at one time had 350 men on its pay roll and the majority of the men were engaged on the KRONPRINZESSIN CECILIE, other- wise known as the “treasure” ship that sought refuge at Bar Harbor, Me., when turned back on declaration of war while bound from New York for Bre- men. The Boston Engineering Co. had the contract on OcKENFELS, while KoLn was repaired by Bertlesen & Petersen. In addition, these concerns and others worked on the’ AMERIKA, CINCINNATI, WITTEKIND and Austrian freighter Erny. a ee The steamer CoAstwIsE has been de- layed by a new ruling which made it imperative to replace eight Germans in the crew by men not classed as alien enemies. The Germans had been on the ship two years, laterly by a special permit which placed _ the Coastwtse Transportation Co. in a position of re- sponsibility. * Ok The whaling bark ANprew Hicks, built 50 years ago at Fairhaven, Mass., has been sold to foreign account and will be placed in oversea trade. xk * A petition asking that pier heads at the- Boston navy yard be extended 240 feet -has been referred to the war de- partment. Objection has been heard as the lengthening of piers will obstruct the upper harbor at its narrowest part and hamper movements of shipping to and from Mystic wharf. x oe Ok Ernest W. Lesser, for 24 years dock superintendent for Patterson, Wylde & Co., Boston, shipping agents, is dead at the age of 72. Mr. Lesser was born in Germany. a 4 Coasting vessels between ports in Nova Scotia and Boston are earning high rates on lumber cargoes, the pres- ent rate from Shulee being $8 per 1000 feet as compared with $2 before the war. Lumber rates from this country to River Plate are very high, a ship ‘having been chartered at $63 per 1000. Rates on lumber between Gulf ports and ports in Florida and South Caro- lina and Boston go as high as $30 per HE here John J. Martin, Boston, has purchased the three-masted schooner PALATKA of Morey & Co., New York, and changed the name to Bitt1E Martin. The Pa- LATKA was built in Jacksonville, Fla., and is to be used in the coastwise trade. *K * * The three-masted Boston schooner WILLIAM M. CRITCHETT is a: total loss on Bird Rock, near the Bahamas, while bound from Philadelphia to Banes, Ciba. with (a: ‘cargo of ‘Coaly> “Phe CrITCHETT, owned by Rogers & Webb, was commanded by Capt. J. D. Sproul whose former schooner, AUGUSTUS WELT, was recently destroyed by a Ger- man submarine. * * * The steamer Cape ANN has been sold by the Boston & Gloucester , Steamship Co. to J. W. Elwell & Co., New York, and will be placed in general coasting trade. The Cape ANN was employed for years as an excursion craft and registered 719 gross tons. Price paid was in the vicinity of $200,000 Pacific Coast Gossip By RC. Faus Suhmarine chaser No. 288, the first built at the Puget sound navy yard, was launched recently. The christening cere- mony was performed on the seawall after which a floating crane picked the little craft up and gently deposited it in the water. After lying at the bottom of Kake harbor, Alaska, the freighter NorrHLAND has been salvaged after many difficulties and is at Seattle for repairs. The ves- sel sank at the wharf in deep water and several attempts at floating were unsuccessful. The _NorTHLAND' was brought to the surface-but little dam- aged. In the meantime the value of the hull has more than doubled. She will be refitted for the Alaska trade. 2K * * The first of the 8800-ton Cunard liners completed at a Pacific yard, the British steamer War Baron, has loaded on Puget sound and departed for an unannounced port. The War _ Baron was built at Portland by the Northwest Steel Works. She underwent satisfac- September, 1917 tory trials on Puget sound. Another Cunard liner, the Viceroy, was launched at the Northwest Steel Works recently. * * * Having completed a successful voyage to the Orient, the Norwegian steamship GoLtpEN Gate, constructed by the Seattle Construction & Dry Dock Co., has left Seattle on her second run to the far east. The GoLtpEN GATE was 69 days on her first voyage, during which calls were made at several ports in China and Japan. x * * The plant of the Todd Shipbuilding Corp. is rapidly being completed at Tacoma, where the third section of an immense floating drydock is now in place. The dock has been built in sec- tions. Each part is 126 feet in length with a 90-foot beam. The third section was launched at Port Blakely last month and the fourth unit will be completed within a few weeks. eee The largest wooden vessel ever built on Puget sound was launched recently at the Ward shipyards, Olympia. This vessel was christened WERGELAND and was built for Norwegian owners. The WERGELAND is a 5-masted craft, 290 feet long, beam of 48 feet, and depth of hold 30 feet. She will have two internal combustion engines of 350 horsepower each and has capacity for 2,000,000 feet of lumber. The new vessel is already chartered for a voyage to Australia. * 2K ** Seattle’s water borne commerce regis- tered some remarkable gains during the first six months of 1917 as compared with the same period in the previous year. While the trade to Vladivostok, which reached its peak in 1916, has fallen off due to the diversion of this business through British Columbia, this port has made enormous gains in other routes, the net gain being approximately $46,000,000. The exports to Vladivostok amounted to $7,000,000 during the first half of this year. The following trades out of Seattle show increases during the last six months: China and Japan, $54,000,000; British Columbia, $14,000,- 000; East Indies, $4,700,000; India, $2,800,000 ; South America, $350,000. > * *k Owing to war conditions and lack of tonnage, Puget sound has been without direct steamship service to the Hawaiian islands for the past year and a rapidly developing trade has been greatly handi- capped. However, the Pacific Steamship Co. will dispatch the steamer SENATOR from Seattle to Honolulu. It is likely that this service will be continued, as there is a constant and insistent demand for space to the islands. 2K *« * Additional contracts for ships have been awarded yards on the Columbia river. The Foundation Co., New York, will construct for the French govern- ment 20 wooden ships at Portland, where 10 ways and a large yard will be in- stalled. The Columbia River Shipbuild- ing Co. will build a number of. steel steamers for the French government, ceeeey of the first to be made July 1, RS ee ole 1 ee 8 Duthie & Co., Seattle, have recently received an order for two vessels for the French government. The yard already had .10 contracts for British and Norwegian owners.