The Washington herald., 1918-04-10
WILL
Be BUILT BY
GOVT. YARDS
Shipping Board Plans to
Build 6,000-Ton Con-
crete Tanker.

No more private contracts for con-
crete ships for the Shipping Board is
the virtually decided policy of the
board. It was learned last night fol-
lowing the announcement that the
board had presented it's request to
Secretary McAdoo for s6O.oooOOo for
concrete hulls..
1t is the intention of the board and
the Emergency Fleet Corporation, in
charge of the actual construction, to
employ the best concrete engineering
talent, survey of which already has
been made. to operate the boards own
concrete yards.
Location Not Decided.
The actual location of these yards
has not been decided definitely. except
that the present state of the program
contemplates having two on the Pa
cific coast and three on the Atlantic:
but two or the most likely cities dis
cussed so far are said to be Whining
ton, N. C., and New orleans.
The location of one of the yards at
New Orleans seems fairly definite. not
only because of its accessibility TO
labor, material and clear transporta-
ton, but because the only great OBJ
lection to the site is to be obviated
by establishing a large shipping basin,
fed from Lake Ponchartrain through
locks, to compensate for the great tide
fall.
Although the report on concrete
ship construction by r. ]. Wig, chief
engineer of the concrete ship division
Of the board, recommending $500 ton
cargo ships. accompanied the boards
request today for the 900 appro-
priation, officials of the board and
feet have decided to confine their pro-
posed concrete program mainly to
large oil tankers Of about 5000 tons,
with perhaps a few general freight
carriers later, Of Z 500 tons deadweight.
Mr.. Wig, whose report was accom-
panied by plans and specifications for
$500 deadweight ton carge carriers and
for concrete ocean tugs, harbor tugs
and other small craft, has been in
structed to work out plans and spec
ifications for the larger cargo ships
and the oil tankers.
The intention to make the tankers
Of $500 tons has been discarded for
oil carriers with a capacity of 1000
to 5000 barrels. which would give an
approximate deadweight tonnage Of
5000
Although Mr.. Wig recommends fur
ther construction OF concrete hulls,
his report cites the danger of local
electrolysis of the steel reinforcements
in the concrete and corrosion, and in
dicates that the life of a concrete
ship in sea service may be short.
VIII BE Tested.
That such a ship, IL the type can
stand the strains of the seas buffet
ing. will last three or four years. in
any event. and serve its war purpose.
encourages the Shipping Board Off
cials to extend their program, not
only for the speed OF production. but
for its relative cargo efficiency.
1t is estimated that the relation OF
cargo efficiency to displacement for
concrete is IS per cent; that of steel
is IS per cent and of wood only 50 per
cent.
No inconsiderable part OF the boards
decision to build its own concrete
ships is due to the fact that, as one
official expresses it, every little con-
tractor with a concrete mixer is be-
setting the board for contracts, and
ther are swarms of them ready to
start mushroom shipyards that we
would have to amortize anyway. so
we'll just operate our own yards"