The weekly Iberian. (New Iberia, La.) 1894-1946, 1902-03-15
Test Of the New Floating Dry
dock at Algiers, La.


ing the recent test of the new float
ing dock at Algiers, La, by dock
ing the new battleship 'Illinois,
This vessel is a sister ship to the
"Alabama' and "Wisconsin."
She is of 11.565 tons displacement,
II, 4 knots speed. and carries four
Is inch, fourteen 6-inch and twen-
weight smaller guns She was
built at the Newport News ship
building yard.
When the late war was immi
nent, the Spanish government
placed an emergency contract
with Swami & Hunter, Wallsend
on Tyne, for two floating docks of
10000 tons capacity, and offered
premiums to the builders and the
towing contractors for the com
pletion and delivery of these
docks respectively to Manila and
Havana, in the way Of several
thousand pounds sterling for each
month that the contractors clipped
from the contract time Of delivery.
In just eleven months from the
date of the contract the now ia
nous Havana dock was delivered
at that place. 1t cost the Span
ish government s595,00o, $4,000
more being paid for towage and
premiums. It arrived in Havana
about two months before the blow
ing up Of the "Maine," and served
the few Spanish cruisers then
about Cuba in getting into con.
dition for the war. Unfortunately
for Spain, the dock was misplaced.
Had it been sent to Santiago, Ger.
vera's fleet would have been able,
at least, to have made a better
run, for their bottoms would all
have been cleaned and scraped.
The other dock was not finished
until after war had begun, and
after the declaration of peace it
was taken to Port Mahon, Balearic
} Islands.
By the treaty of peace it was
agreed that all movable property
:. belonging to the Spanish govern
ment might be taken away. The
board appointed to pass upon
! movable and immovable property
declared the Havana dock NOV
able; but Spain had no use for 1t,
in her comparatively shipless state
, and sold it to this government fol
) the paltry sum of $1S5,OOO. AL
{ though we had no occasion tt
: dock our battleships during the
s campaign, considerable uneasiness
s was experienced over the fact thai
5 in all the southern waters Their,
{ was no dock large enough to tak'
: an American battleship. A small
s floating dock had been towed t,
{ Pensacola; and Key West, Mobil'
8 and New Orleans had docks tina
{ would lift torpedo boats and small
& cruisers; but there was no docl
: south Of Newport News able t
: accommodate one of the govern
I ment's larger ships.
Immediately after the war,
contract was awarded for til,
building of a floating dock fo
: Algiers Gust opposite New Or
!, ]eans) that would lift any vesse
in the navy. This was to be thu
largest dock Of its kind afloa
$4,000 tons capacity with deck
two feet above water, $4,000 tom
awash. In October the dock wa
. successfully towed from Sparrow
! Point, Maryland, its place Of con
: struction, to New Orleans. This
= style Of dock was decided upol
> for three reasons: First, becaus'
"a craving dock could not be bull
= in stable way in the alluvial sol
of the Mlssissippi's banks; second
= ", because of the variation of i
: feet in the river levels at hig1
" and low water; and thirdly, be
cause of the cleapness of frs
cost Zone third less) and OF mamie
: nance, as compared with ston
$ docks.
n The test of the full capacity 0
7 the dock could not be made, 70
" the reason that the "Illinois
= displaees only II. 500 tons; but til
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