SINGAPORE FLOATING DOCK

Evening Star, Issue 19794, 18 February 1928, Page 19

SINGAPORE FLOATING DOCK

“AS LARGE AS A FOOTBALL GROUND " The well-known Tyne firm of Messrs Swan, Hunter, and Wighani Richardson (builders of the Mauretania) has a triumph to its credit in the completion of the monster Singapore floating dock of 60,000 tons for the British Admiralty within cloven months of laying the first keel plate. Before the war the firm built an ’ll ,000 ton floating dock for Stettin in seven and a-lialf months, and also the 33,000 ton dock for the Medway, hut tho new giant boats alt records m rapidity of construction, for it contains 20,000 tons of steel and 3,600,000 rivets, and had to ho built and launched in seven sections. During September rivets were worked into the dock by an army of workmen at the rate of 110,000 a week. A DUTCH CONTRACT. Now comes tho task of another character, and that is tho towing of this mighty, structure to the Far East, a feat calling for masterly seamanship, and likewise unending anxiety, over a distance of 8,500 miles, including the passage of the Suez Canal. ft is stated that the Admiralty intends placing the towage contract with tho well-known Dutch firm—Smit, of Rotterdam—-who have much experience in this kind of work of an international character. It may he that there are British linns capable of undertaking such work. There is, however, no disputing the ability of the Dutchmen to undertake those long towage jobs most efficiently, and this particular journey will probably occupy three to four months. Not fewer than eight tugs must be employed, but before the _ arduous voyage can he undertaken it is neces-. sary to complete the electric installation which operates the completed dock, one portion of which involves the connection of cables of a total length of over 100 miles. The sinking and raising capacity of the dock has also to he tested, so that it may well be. May ere the mighty .structure passes nut of the mouth of the Tyne and turns southward for the Straits of Dover and then for the Mediterranean. PERILS’OF THE SUEZ CANAL. The passage of the Suez Canal will form the most hazardous part of the voyage (storms excepted), as there will bo but a small margin to port and starboard (it must be borne in mind that the completed dock covers an area equal to the majority of our First League football grounds). The danger, however, would not be from grounding, but from touching the banks. Traffic through the Suez Canal must be stopped while the dock makes its way ro the Indian Ocean at a speed that cannot exceed a. mile ■an hour. It is understood that the voyage will be undertaken with the dock in two sections, the wholo structure intact being too unwieldy. The builders state that the dock itself could accommodate over 60,000 persons standing upon its bottom, and a considerable marine and engineering crew will be' towed with it and lire on its steely, sides.