NEW LINER AKAROA

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 11, Issue 57, 23 July 1947, Page 7

NEW LINER AKAROA

ON WAY TO NEW ZEALAND BRITISH] SHIPYARD ACTIVITY The impressive list, headed by the Queen Mary, of large liners which are now coming back into peacetime service of Britain’s various shipping companies, includes the well-known Shaw Savill vessel, Akaroa, which on July 5 resumed service as a cabin-class passenger vessel on the England-New Zealand route. Besides helping to shorten the long list of those awaiting passage on this route, the Akaroa will provide a valuable cargo capacity of over 11,000 tons. The tonnage of the vessel is 15,129. One of- the most interesting of recent launchings from United Kingdom shipyards has been that of the Thorshavet, a new motordriven whale factory ship for a firm of Norwegian whalers. Norway’s whaling companies suffered heavily during the war. Seven whale factory ships were sunk and several others severely damaged by bombing, and the Thorshavet will be an important addition to Norwegian fleefs. She is a whale factory ship of the most up-to-date type, fitted with such devices as a gyro compass, echo sounder, automatic fog signal and radar. According to a Buenos Aires import a British yard is also building a whale oil refinery for an Argentina company. It is stated that the vessel will carry Walrus naval planes for spotting whales, and wilf have a refrigerating plant, radar navigational aids and five workshops. The "Crew will number 444. Another rej>ort from Buenos Aires states that the Argentine State merchant fleet has been authorised to spend more than half a million pounds on a contract for the building of a large motor ship. This contract, it is reported, , has been placed in tlie United Kingdom.

New Liner For South Atlantic The British South Atlantic service has also been augmented by a new liner. Recently the Argentina Star, the first of four cargo-passenger ships of 12,000 tons built to the order of the Blue Star Line for their South American service, sailed on her maiden voyage from Liverpool. The second vessel, the Brazil Star, is expected to be ready about the middle of August, and will be followed later by the Uruguay Star and the Paraguay Star. Another “Star” ship—the Imperial Star —has just been launched from a Scottish shipyard. The new vessel is a motor-driven refrigerated cargo liner of 13,500 tons, specially designed for the rapid transport of' foodstuffs and general cargo.