MAMMOTH ATLANTIC LINERS.

Taranaki Daily News, 18 October 1919, Page 12

MAMMOTH ATLANTIC LINERS.

COSTLY AND PROFITLESS.

SPEED AT EXPENSE OF COMFORT.

The announcement cabled from New York that the United States Shipping Hoard has arranged'to build two inamoth liners, 1000 feet in length, and capable of steaming 30 knots, has created only a very slight flutter in British shipping circles The Atlantic is already familiar with leviathans almost as large as those contemplated by the Americans, and the general experience on this side is that these huge vessels are not profitable investments, and cannot possibly be run unless heavily subsidised.

In the course of several interviews with leading members of the British companies interested in the Atlantic trade, a representative of "The Observer" gathered valuable expert opinions in regard to the impending competition.

"So far as I can see," said Mr Charles F. Torrey, chairman of the Atlantic Transport Company and of the Leylaud Line, "these mammoth liners can be kept going only if the United States Government undertake to bear the cost of running them. They will not—they cannot—be a commercial success. Experience has proved that. The expenses of running and upkeep are far too heavy to admit of profits. _ "Take the case of the ex-German liners, the Leviathan, lonce known as the Vaterland, and the Imperator, the two largest merchant vessels afloat. They are respectively SO7 and BS2 feet in length. While under the German flag in pre-war days, neither of these linei-R was a commercial success, and I see no reason why they are likely to prove profitable under the Stars and Stripes. COST OF MCREASED SPEED. "The problem of making the proposed new liners a.paying proposition will be considerably more difficult' especially as it is intended to increase the speed from about 23 or 24 to 30 knots. To attain even the lower speed, which is reckoned high as far as the Atlantic is concerned, is very costly; but the additional six or seven knots will mean a most disproportionate increased expenditure on fuel. Over and above a cer-' tain steaming capacity each extra knot is an enormous expense. There is a regular formula upon which this cost can be calculated, but it is rather too technical for the general public. 'lt must be remembered," Mr Torrey continued, "that these "huge Atlantic liners are not cargo-carriers: they are simply and solely passenger ship's— floating hotels in fact, equipped with almost every luxuxry and convenience. This being the case, their money-earning period is practically limited to'the midsummer months—at most from mid-May to mid-September— when the tourist season is at its height. During that period, in pre-war days, the great rival liners, both British and German, were filled to their utmost "capacity, but during the' rest of the year they rarely if ever carried anything like ' their "full complement of passengers. The" cost of running and upkeep generally, however, did not diminish.

"Another practical point to be borne in mind is ■ that these very fast ships are not very pleasant to travel in. Very few people. I imagine, would care to cross th c Atlantic 1 in a destroyer. The discomfort and inconvenience would not, of course, be so marked in the case of a huge liner. Nevertheless, great speed is not conducive to comfort. "Another matter which may or mav not weigh with travellers," Mr Torrey added, "is that thc United States, having 'gone dry,' as the current saving is these new liners, if they flv the Stars and Stripes, will have to be run dry. That would not be an attraction to a certain class of oassenser. and it- would most certainly nTeet the bookings." Whether the 1 ritish shipping companies will feel called upon to pick up the gauntlet and build competing liners on a similar scale, was a point on which Mr. Torrey preferred to express no opinion. THE QUESTION OF DOCKING. "As regards adequate dock accommodation on this side, he remarked in regard to another aspect of the question, "there would be no difficulty so far as Southampton is concerned. These ships, might also be accommodated at Liverpool, though at some, risk, not so much owing to the bar in the Mersey as to the formation of the docks, which does not lend itself to vessels of extreme length. There woul ! he considerable risk in docking and undocking such large ships. At Southampton, on the other hand, they would not have to go through any locks; they would go straight into a tidal dock" Asked how the British shipping companies viewed the impending competi. tion, Mr. Torrey replied:— "So long as the American authorities - T o not sacrifice the capital involved, the competition is not much to be feared. But as soon as they realise that to be successful these vessels must be put on a commercial basis, and if the authorities do what is necessary to place them on a parity with t\v- mercantile fleets of other nations, then this competition will be serious. At present the United States are quite in earnest in their resolve to create a strong mercantile marine, but Congress may have a voice in the matter before long. And Congress is doubtless aware of the fact that a subsidised concern is never run economically." THE MOST PROFITABLE LINER. "It is all very well and in its way quite commendable for the big shipping companies to strive for the blue riband of the Atlantic, not only as regards size, but speed. Shipowners, however, have to earn profits like other business men, and they cannot afford these costly, unprofitable adventures. Personally," I believe the most profitable Atlantic liner of the future will be of the intermediate type—good cargo capacity, comfortable passenger accommodation, and a moderate rate of speed, say, IS to 20 knots. To the vast majority of voyagers (he saving of a few hours or even a day or so on the passage is not a matter of the least moment Certainly to them it is not worth the extra expense involved. For this reason the talk of establishing a terminal at Galway or Londonderry, just as it is now proposed to establish a terminal at Fort Pond Bay, Montauk Point, Long Island, in order to shorten the sea voyage from New York to this side, has never got beyond the academic stage. Yet the Galway scheme has been talked about, off and on, for the last twenty-five years, It has always been shelved because of its commercial impracticability; it was not a sound business proposition. "Of course, I have not the least doubt that there will always be a certain wealthy class prepared to patronise these costly, mammoth liners j ie them money

is no object; they love novelty and extravagance; they would cross the Atlantic by aeroplane or by the 834 if it were available. But this class represent a very small minority of the Atlantic passenger traffic. And the shipping companies that want to pay dividends must cater for the many and not for the few."