OIL ENGINED SHIPS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 219, 4 February 1913, Page 3

OIL ENGINED SHIPS.

It was cabb-d last week that a British company, with a capital of £1,000,000. privately subscribed, bad been formed to exploit oil-engined merchant vessels, and that contracts for several 6000ton vessels had been placed. The chief point in connection with motor liners is that during (i. very small number of years remarkable strides have been made in the construction of large engines; with the successful increase in size, economy still af-pears paramount, and economy is very much needed in view of the great competition between shipping companies. Five years ago (says the London Daily Mail) the largest internal combustion engine running was of only 4o()-horse-power": now the horse-power is beginning to run into several thousands. Considering the supremacy of Great Britain in matters maritime, it is a little astonishing that the great bulk of the pioneer work in connection with oildriven ships is being done on the Continent. One instance of British industry in this respect is a ship recently built on the Clyde, of 50QO tons. 3000 horsepower, but from the information that is available it would appear that to one. oil-ship of any size built in Great Britain, there are many being constructed abroad—chiefly on the Continent, A 1 t 000-ton liner is under construction in a German shipbuilding yard. The Diesel engines for these ocean-going line's are, of course, of relatively low horse-power. As an instance of what is being done in the way of the far more powerful engines above hinted at, such as would be suitable for battleships or fast pasvessels, it may be stated that a six-cylinder engine has been designed at Nuremberg of something like' 12.000 horse-power, and when built it is proposed to instal it in a German battleship. A successful engine on these lines has been already constructed of moderated large horse-power for a Hamburg-Ame-rican liner. Several engineers of the German na,vy are already studying the construction of these engines n't one of Hie principal Continental marine- engineering works. '"