LARGEST TANKER

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 878, 23 January 1930, Page 10

LARGEST TANKER

INTERESTING VISITOR TO DOMINION 18,000 TONS CAPACITY One of the largest oil-tankers of the world, the Texas Oil Company’s Australia, is expected at Auckland before the end of next week. The Australia reaches Wellington from San Pedro, California, via Australian ports from Fremantle to Svdney on Sunday, and comes on to Auckland to discharge into the company’s tanks at Western Wharf, the remainder of her huge cargo of 18,000 tons of bulk oil. Built in 1928 at Chester, Pennsylvania, by the Sun Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, for the Texas Company, the Australia has a gross tonnage of 11,628. She traded until last year under the name of Mary Ellen O’Neil, but her name was changed to commemorate the entry of the company into the Australian bulk oil trade. The Australia has a length of 509.7 feet, a breadth of 70.3 feet, and a depth of 39.9 feet. Under her original name, the Australia was recently to have visited the four ports of New Zealand, but she was found to be too large for Dunedin. Unusual features in the vessel’s construction will attract attention during the stay at Auckland. The Australia has a cruiser stern and is built with two decks on the longitudinal frame system. Twin screws, driven by two sets of Sun-Doxford, four-cylinder, two-stroke, single-acting Diesel engines, propel the tanker. The Australia was bought with two other vessels by the company, and will be the largest tanker to visit New Zealand.