The Largest Ship in the World.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXV, Issue 250, 19 November 1903, Page 4

The Largest Ship in the World.

Three times since Januray, 1899, the largest ship in the world has 'been launched at Belfast for the White Star Line, and within a few weeks another ship, larger by 3000 tons than any now sailing, will be launched at Belfast for the same line. The increase in the size of the world's greatest steamers since .January, 1899, is almost 7000 tons. The Oceanic, which, at the time of her launch, was the largest in the world, measured a little over 17,000 tons gross. She was followed by the Celtic, of 20,904 tons. The Carfric came next, of 20,950 tons, and now the Baltic follows, of about 24.000 tons.

The launch of the Baltic will confirm the White Star Line in the position which it has long occupied, of possessing by a long way the largest ship in the world, for 4000 tons will separate the Baltic from the Kaiser Wilhelm 11., the next largest of any other line, and nfter the Kaiser Wilhelm 11. the next largest of any other line than the White Star is the .Deutschland, of 16,000 tons. So that only two vessels of any other line come within 8000 tons of the largest steamer of the White Star Line, and twenty yours ago there was only one steamer in the world, except the Great Basteri,, which measured more than 8000 tons.

Of course, when the great Cunarders come they will measure over 24000 tons, but there is still time for the owners of the White Star Line to build another steamer larger than the Baltic before the Cunard steamers are launched. The Baltic belongs to the same class of ships to which the Celtic, the Ceclric, and the Arabic belong. She will be famous for her large carrying capacity and her steadiness in rough weather rather than for speed.though her speed of 18 knots or thereby will 'be more than amy steamer on the Atlantic could do till the Oregon ■began to run in the autumn of

Now that the limit of 20,000 tons is left behind the question of finding suitable deck accommodation for these leviathans comes to be of great importance. There are many ports, such as London or Glasgow, which they could not approach, and even the largest graving docks will soon be too small if the increase goes on at the rate it has done for the last 20 years.