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Largest and Fastest Motorship in the World—Twin Screw Passenger Motor Liner Saturnia We Need Diesel Engined Vessels to Meet Foreign Operating Costs T IS a safe bet that it is pretty hard to find nowadays even an American ship perior fuel economy of the diesel engine. If such there be he is not keeping up with the times in the technical development of marine pro- pulsion. A good percentage of the skilled engi- neering brains of the world and many ship and engine building yards are engaged in exten- sive labor along the wrong lines if such an odd operator were right. It is only necessary to point out what the world outside of America is doing in producing diesel ships to convince even the most obstinate that there must be something to the internal combustion engine. British Lloyd’s, with its eye on shipbuilding in every quarter of the globe, in a statement dated Oct. 12, shows that motor vessel construction throughout the world gained about 130,000 gross tons between June 30, and Sept. 30, of the present year. And this further startling fact, that over 700,000 tons more of vessels equipped with internal! owner who does not believe in the su- combustion engines are now in hand than there were a year ago. The total motor vessel con- struction for the world as of Sept. 30, 1927 was 1,589,510 gross tons. Compare this figure with 1,485,000 gross tons for all other types of vessels combined, under construction in the world as of the same date and one will be convinced that the world outside of America at least is serious about this business of providing economical diesel drive ships. One is also apt to do some serious think- ing of what the future holds in store on the _ high seas for an American merchant fleet still very largely equipped with machinery of a de- sign prevailing ten to fifteen years ago and with machinery for the most part built in a great hurry under wartime conditions of labor and ma- terial. The picture is somewhat relieved by the fact that the government through the agency of the shipping board has taken some initial steps to remedy this situation. Every American ship- ping man knows of the diesel conversion pro- 12 MARINE REVIEW—November, 1927