SHIPMENT OF PRODUCE

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21418, 9 March 1935, Page 21

SHIPMENT OF PRODUCE

LAST WORD IN DESIGN * (TftOM oum own COtKESPOKDftXT.) LONDON. February 2. j The new twin-screw motor vessel, I Port Wyndham, built for the Commonwealth and Dominion Line ,by Messrs John Brown and Company, Glasgow, lies in the London docks, and for three or four days clients and others interested in the trade have been the guests of the directors of the company at luncheons on board. One /arty entertained this week included the Agents-General of Australia and New Zealand representatives—MiDavid Jones and Mr R. S. Forsyth (Meat Board;, Mr H. E. Davis (Dairy Board), and Mr H. Turner (Fruit Control Board). The dimensions of the vessel are: Length 494 ft sin; breadth 65ft 2£in. The gross tonnage is 8581, and dead weight carriage capacity 11,600 tons. She is fitted with two sets of Doxford 4-cylinder, opposed piston engines, and on trial these developed 9940 b.h.p. and 11.215 i.h.p.' at 115 revolutions. She is designed to attain a speed of 16 knots fully loaded, and on trials last week reached a mean speed of 18A knots. Insulated Chambers ! The insulated holds have a capacity |of 430,000 cubic feet. Of this 80,(juU are j specially adapted for the carriage of | chilled beef and provision is made for i further chilled meat space, if required. I The walls of all the chilled meat com- ; partments are electrically welded in- ' stead of being riveted, thus prevent- ! ing leakage, as far as practicable, of | the very volatile carbon dioxide gas. j The edges of the door are at an angle I and are champed hard. In addition, j they have a rubber cushion which is j annointed with a substance with the : qualities of both grease and gum. When the doors are* shut the cracks i are further pasted over with thick | brown paper. The hatchways again ! are arranged on the same principle as j the doors to ensure against leakage, I and again over the top of the hatch- ! ways are second hatchways of iron ■ which rest on a rubber cushion all round. Leakage, therefore, is reduced i to a minimum. 1 Some leakage of the C.02 gas is in- : evitable, however. In a chamber next to the refrigerating machinery there arc rows and rows of cylinders containing this gas. Previously, these had to be moved as the gas was required. That is a thing of the past. First of all. there is an apparatus which records the composition of the atmospheres in the holds. Small metal pipes are led off from every insulated j chamber to this apparatus. One of the i several taps may be turned on and in ' a minute the engineer is able to read | the proportion of C.02 gas in the particular chamber. If there is a deficiency he attaches a tube to one of tiie gas cylinders, opens the particular tap which connects a pipe leading to the chamber in question and brings : the atmosphere to its requisite condition. An electric thermometer also records the temperatures in each of the chambers throughout the ship, but that is no new thing. Care has also ! been taken to keep the ehillinu chambers the 'correct height so that no space is wasted between the hanging : quarters and the floor. Mi: .1. Pi. Rooper 'a director of the C. and D. Line) compared the Do-

minions' trade with the, Argentine trade. In the Argentine trade they had the simple problem o£ loading chilled or frozen meat. "This ship, on the other hand," said Mr Rooper, "has got to be designed to carry as well butter, apples, cheese, eggs and even oranges, all of which require different temperatures. Some, like the chilled beef, want C.02 gas, others, like apples, get suffocated if they have too much of iy Some of these cargoes, such as oranges and cheese, cause us worry because the smell they give off is liable to taint other cargo, such as flour, etc. In the Argentine trade ships go out in ballast, or practically so, and load at one or perhaps two ports, direct from the meat works into a number ot small compartments. Such an arrangement is not possible in the Dominions trades owing to the variety of cargoes that have to be carried, and owing to the fact that steel rails, large motor trucks, turbines, electrical machinery and so on have to be carried outwards. Losses Through Quotas "There is one other matter inwh'ch I would ask the co-operation of all of you gentlemen present to-day. f refer to the avoidance of the appalling losses caused to the shipowners through the action of our Board of Trade and Ministry of Agrictulture in suddenly limiting tlie quantities of meat or dairy produce which may be exported. 1 do not think you can exaggerate Ihc enormous loss which is occasioned to shipowners when vessels are sent out some three months before they are to load home, only to find when they get to tlie other side that the cargo booked for them cannot be shipped. "I am not seeking to place blame in any quarter, but I do ask your co-operation by impressing on your premiers and prime ministers that they should insist, on due notice of at least six months, when a curtailment is expected. Delay or procrastination in agreeing to the quotas suggested by the British Government must entail incalculable losses on shipowners, and also on the freezing works and dairy produce stores, who arc compelled to keep meat or dairy produce in store much longer than they bargained foi'." The Port Wyndham. which leaves in a few days, will make Melbourne her first port of call.