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British Maritime Affairs Show Decided Improvement RITISH shipbuilding is actively making up for lost time. Some yards, closed for: several months, © have resumed operations, and the amount of work on hand is steadily increasing. At the same time the freight market is steady, and although rates have dropped from the high mark which they reached in Novem- ber 1926 they remain slightly above the level of one year ago. Whereas signs of a resumption of activities are unquestionable, it is generally recognized that business under present conditions is hardly remunerative. It was pointed out by Lord Kylsant, chairman and managing director of Lamport & Holt, Ltd., at their fif- teenth ordinary general meeting that shipping companies have not, as has sometimes been stated, much benefited is Ee |_| See 2h ee eee pore to Pi bd Pa edd Be See Seeee 232ke By Vincent Delport European Manager Marine Review steel and they find difficulty in ob- gipinine their supplies. Last year the United Kingdom un- doubtedly went backward in_ ship- building output in comparison with the rest of the world, and with the difficulties which British industry still has to face the lost ground can only be recovered step by step. It is there- fore gratifying to note that a few weeks ago two British firms secured orders for six vessels of a total value of about £1,000,000 ($4,850,000) in the face of strong competition from continental shipbuilders. Three of these ships are oil tank vessels each of 15,000 tons deadweight, to be built by the Furness Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., Havertonhill-on-Tees. The other three are twin-screw oil tank steamers of about 8700 tons deadweight each, een we of Freights Between U. S. A. and Western Europe ~~ appreciable three months after work was resumed at the coal mines. In March 11 vessels of 30,915 tons were launched, making a total of 26 vessels of 44,000 tons for the first quarter. An interesting point about the con- tracts recently received on the Clyde is that the majority are for motor- ships, some being repeat orders. This tends to show that the internal com- bustion engine is gaining favor in Great Britain, which country is some- what behind the other countries of the world in the building of this class of ship. Among the more recent or- ders which the Clyde yards have ob- tained are one 10,000-ton tanker placed by D. and W. Henderson with Munting & Son, one twin-screw motor vessel 150 feet in length and of about 450 tons measurement, to be built by A. a | MA a BBB SOc s BOB Ceeeagceees oc ans 7 foods, saeaee Pee Pa pet bebe bet ee DIAGRAM SHOWING FLUCTUATION OF OCEAN FREIGHT RATES FOR FOUR YEARS AND TWO MONTHS from the results of last year’s in- dustrial stoppage. The enhanced rates of passage-money and high freight rates were not sufficient to make up for the increased cost of fuel, for going out of their way to load bunk- ers in foreign ports, and for the loss of export trade. The fact that the profits of companies have been seri- ously curtailed last year is corrobo- rated by a survey of the chamber of shipping. The board of trade has come to the same conclusion and es- timates that the gross earnings of British ships engaged in foreign trade fell off last year by £4,000,000 ($19,- 400,000), and this figure is considered by the chamber of shipping as too conservative. These conditions still pertain now to some extent, at any rate with respect to fuel costs and export business. The shipyards also have to pay a high price for fuel and to be built by Palmer’s Shipbuilding & Iron Co., Ltd., Jarrow-on-Tyne. All six vessels will be on the Isherwood bracketless system and fitted with diesel machinery constructed by Rich- ardson, Westgarth & Co., Ltd., Hartle- pool. The contracts were placed by the Gulf Refining Co. of Pittsburgh. Shipbuilding Contracts Awarded Numerous other contracts have been awarded since the beginning of the year, especially to the Clyde and Tyne shipyards. It is noteworthy that the output on the Clyde for January and February was the lowest on record. In January only one vessel of 5209 tons was launched, and in February only 14 small vessels ag- gregating about 8000 tons were launched. The output for these two months in 1926 was 25 vessels of 60,000 tons. This is due to the scar- city of fuel and steel which still was MARINE REVIEW—May, 1927 and J. Inglis of Pointhouse for cargo and passenger service on a South American river, and a diesel-electric oil tanker, to be built by Scott’s Ship- building & Engineering Co., Greenock, and ordered by the Atlantic Refining Co. of Philadelphia. This vessel will have engines of the Carells-Ingersoll- Rand type, made by the Carells Co. of Ghent, Belgium, and the electrical gear will be supplied by the British Thomson-Houston Co. Less Shipyard Unemployment On the northeast coast, at New- castle-on-Tyne, unemployment in the yards is decreasing, and supplies of steel plates and sections are becom- ing more plentiful. Armstrong-Whit- worth & Co., Ltd., have secured an order for two 10,000-ton vessels from British Tankers, Ltd.; the engines will be of the triple-expansion type. The firm now has 12 tankers and mer- 35