Evening star., 1940-11-10
British 10 Buy
And Construct
Ships in U. 5.
Boom for American
Yards Expected if
War s'Protructed
Special Dispatch TO The Star.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, Nov. 9-While Brit
ish agents are negotiating for the
purchase of old cargo ships, even
more important to the future of the
already booming American ship
building business are the negotia- =
tions for the construction here OF
a new ship yard to turn out boats
for Britain, according to an article
in today's issue of Business Week.
The magazine points out that the
first such yard to be financed by
the British-a $50 100000 project
is not as important for its size as
it is for the new pattern of opera
tion which it establishes, a pattern
which the industry thinks may be
vastly amplified If the war is pro-
tracted.
"If that happens" says Business
Week, "the shipbuilding boom may
we'll become one of unprecedented
proportions. The United States is
already in the midst of a Govern
ment-aided merchant shipbuilding
program under which 1T keels
have been laid In the last three
years. 81 vessels have already been
delivered, and s1,250,O0 900 is be-
ing spent. In addition to this, pri-
vate industry has so going
freighters and SIS tankers on the
ways. and Washington has recently
placed $1,000 100000 in Navy orders
under the two-ocean feet program
Regarded as First Step.
Against this backlog, the report
that Britain is preparing to build
its own 28-way cargo ship assembly
yard in this country and spend
$50 10000 for a mass order for
10.000-ton frsighters is insignificant
Even at prevailing prices. $4,000 900
would buy no more than 20 or 25
ships of the C-type being built by
the Maritime Commission now, or
possibly twice that number if the
British specifications call for little
more-as is claimed-than pointed
boxes with riveted steel hullls, an
engine, a deck. and a lot of freight
space That would be an insignifi-
cant share in the backlog of busi-
ness piling up on shipbuilders' order
books in this country.
What has impressed the trade
with the possibility that this is only
a sample of really vast orders that
may follow" states the magazine.
lis Prime Minister Churchills ad-
mission this week that submarine
and raider attacks ON British ship
ping have recently increased to an
alarming extent, and persistent ru-
mors that Germany. as in the last
war, is turning out submarines on a
mass production basis and rushing
them to Atlantic ports from Bergen
TO Brest, and down the Danube to
ConstanZa, Rumania, where they are
being assembled. presumably for
Mediterranean raiding.
The attack this week on British
conveyed ships by German raider
in mid Atlantic is believed by many
to herald a new phase of sea raid
ing which may. in another year,
create heavy demand for more bot
toms"
Details Are Discussed.
According to Business Week. the
British already have four commits
sionerS in this country discussing de-
tails of their plan with Treasury,
Maritime Commission and naval au-
thorities The scheme calls for the
construction of a 28-way assembly
yard to turn out powered scowS. {"
the parts for which would be built
in various parts of the country by
plants not loaded with other jobs.
Shipping authorities, while they
admit that any enlargement of the
Shipbuilding program will run them
into difficulties because of the short
age of skilled workers in some lines
and the difficulty of securing deliv-
cry on all kinds of equipment, be-
lieve that the British project can
be handled. In the first place, If the
British stick to their pointed box
specifications, little more than COM
mon labor would be necessary in the
assembly yards. More tools for the
supply plants will be a problem
which can be met only with the
sanction of the priorities board,
though some suppliers may be able
to squeeze some of the essential
parts into their own production pro-
grams and farm out the rest.
The British are not relying en-
tirely on the new program for re-
placements. 1t is pointed out that
since the beginning of the war this
country has sold the British 10
ocean-going vessels totaling nearly
400. 900 tons for an estimated SIS
500 900. A part of these were laid
up ships built during the World War
The rest were privately owned idle
ships Almost none of them was
less than % wears old