Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-08-26
LANES OF THE OCEAN
SHIP PATHS MAPPED BETWEEN
AMERICA AND EUROPE
Tracks Which the Liners Traverse al
Indicated by Lieut..
Maury.
rom the New York Mall and Express.

From the New York Mall and Express
In reports of the arrival Of an ocean liner
the statement sometimes appears that she
came by the southern route to avoid ice
or that she made her first trip Of the season
by the northern lane" To the ordinary
reader the idea Of lanes or pathways on
what we have been taught to think of az
the trackless sea- seems somewhat para
doxical. but IL you consult the charts In the
office of a steamship manager or in the
United States photographic Office instead of
the ordinary map. you will find that there
are four well-defined highways across the
north Atlantic. as clearly marked to tho
navigators perception as is a tims-worn
turnpike on land to the eyes Of the pedes-
trian.
1t Is over these great ocean thorourhfares
that the Atlantic flyers. with their tens Of
thousands of passengers and their hum
dreds of thousands of tons OF freight. pass
on their voyages between America and Eu-
rope. They are closely adhered to by all
fast steam vessels, and just as carefully
avoided by sailing ships and by the fisher
men who ply their trade off the Grand
Banks. The situation of small craft on
the liners route would be comparable to
that of man driving a light runabout
along railway track cleared for the fast
limited. for these main-traveled lines
have been set aside by custom and agree
ment for the Atlantic's lightning ex-
presses" Nobody is delayed at sidings or
confined to special tracks. however. for the
rest or the ocean Is left to the ordinary
mariner.
The Great Circle.
1t is only within the past few years that
the tracks upon which the great liners
shall run have been SO clearly defined
Ever since the commerce OF the north At
lantic assumed important proportions SAIL
ing masters have followed, in general
way. the great circle that curves northward
from the west coast Of England and Ire
land until 1t reaches about 46 degrees north
latitude In mfdocean, then bears south
westward past the coast Of Newfoundland
and Cape Race. Early experience proved
that this was the shortest. and so. of
course the quickest route between Europe
and such ports as Boston. New York and
Philadelphia.
While steam navigators kept fairly near
this course. 1t was natural enough that
they should vary from 1t somewhat accord
ing to the theories of individual captains,
With the multiplication of steamships and
the rapid increase in speed, the very fact
that all the larger and swifter vessels kept
to one particular part of the ocean greatly
increased the danger Of collision between
them. When forty or fifty swift steamers
were crossing the Atlantic at the Same
time in one direction or the other, all keep
Ing to the same general course irrespective
of the direction in which they were travel.
Ing. it was obvious that the possibility OF
two of them coming together in thick
weather was too great to be contemplated
pleasantly.
Lieut.. Maury's Plan
So Lieut.. Maury of the United States
navy made the suggestion that all fast
steamships should traverse certain fixed
routes. which he indicated-paths follow
ing the great circle pretty closely. for 1t
was natural that the steamship companies
would not agree to the adoption Of any
route that involved a loss Of time in max
ing the ocean passage
The most important provision suggested
by Lieutenant Maury was that vessels go
ing in opposite directions should observe
the rules of the road by passing one an
other on the port side. To carry out this
plan he proposed that westbound' vessels
should keep about one degree to the north
ward of those eastbOund. Thus the great
est danger from the following OF indiscrim-
mate routes-that of collision between fast
ships-would be avoided. While it Is de-
sirable in point of time for ships to steer
their course far to the north. the presence
of Ice and fog In the high ATTITUDES makes
1t impractica bic for Them to do SO during
fully half the year. Accordingly Lteuten-
ant Maury provided for two great high
ways. one for summer the other for win
: ter, one about three degrees to the nortf,-;~
ward of the other and each with west
bound and eastbound tracks.
Two Pioneers. >
The rivalry between the different lines
was SO great at that time that each hest
tated to give unconditional adherence ia,
the plan. fearing that some other would
gain an advantage. Two prominent steam
ship managers. however. quickly appreci-
ated the advantages of Lieutenant Maury's
plan, and, Independently of their competi-
tors, gave instructions to their captains to
follow the lanes laid down by him. These
two men were Clement A. Griscom then the
head of the American line, now president
Of the International Mercantile Marine
Company, and Thomas II. Ismay, director
of the great White Star line. As these two
lines then owned the fastest and most per-
feet ships on the Atlantic, the influence Of
their example was very powerful, and when
the international marine conference was
held at Washington. in 1889. it devoted a
great deal of attention to this subject
though 1T did not adopt the Maury courses
officially. for the reason that 1t could not
enforce Its decision II the companies chose
to disregard it.
There is no doubt that the adoption of
these lanes has been of the utmost i'm
portance in increasing the safety of ocean
travel, and possesses distinct advantages
aside from eliminating the possibility of
head-on collisions between the liners Ex.
ira precautions are taken to keep the great
highway clear of derelicts and other float
ing dangers, or to give warning Of their
presence
Since the masters of sailing vessels know
the steamer routes they consult their own
safety by avoiding them and by keeping a
sharp lookout whenever 1t Is necessary to
cross them In either direction. The Naw-
foundland fishermen, instead of being in
constant dread Of the leviathans know
that their sturdy little craft are compare
lively secure when out of the tracks of the
liners. and If they encroach on the pathway
they practice increased vigilance, while yes-
sells that are disabled or in distress know
where to look for assistance
Christening Of the Isabelle. -.