The Wilmington morning star., 1946-05-22

the Peggy laAe basin, near Hous-
ton, Tex, and a temporary basin,
not proposed as a permanent site,
at Sausalito, Calf.
Additional lay-up basins termed
Temporary" in the commission
report are facilities on the James
river, near Norfolk, Va, Mobile
bay, Mobile, Ala, and Susan bay,
near South San Francisco, Calf.
500 Employees
That approximately 500 full
time employees will be required to
service and maintain the Bruins
wick basin is indicated by the
commissions request for an ap-
preparation sufficient to retain L.
500 civil service employees on the
three permanent lay-up basins.
Tentatively, and pending con-
gressio-.al action on funds, the
commission proposes to operate
its lay-up program independently
of its four permanent shipbuilding
yards, it was learned by the Star
Washington bureau yesterday.
Federal Or Private
The Star was informed by a
commission spokesman that two
propositions were under current
consideration relative to operation
OF the shipyards: Cd place all
personnel under federal civil SER
vice; ca operate the yards under
contract to private contractors.
Since its activation here, the
Wilmington shipyard has been
operated under commission con-
tract by the North Carolina Ship
building company, a subsidiary Of
the Newport News Shipbuilding
and Drydock company of Newport
News, Va.
Maintenance Stressed
Stressed as a necessity in the
commissions report to Congress,
was the upkeep of suitable yards
for the maintenance, repair and
building of aforementioned YES
sells. On what scale these opera
tons would be carried out was not
specified in detail.
The commission did, however.
point out that it proposed to put
5000 ships in storage for ready
reserve purposes by the end of
1947. By December 81 it was plan
ned to have 1000 surplus ships
laid away in permanent and tenn
porary basins. Two thousand more
would be added to complete the
reserve merchant fleet by January
l, 1948. Included will be dry cargo
ships, tarkers, training ships, pas
senger ships, and tugs.
The commission report indicated
that the first 400 vessels for the
new merchant marine reserve
fleet will be towed from the James
river temporary lay-up basin to
Wilmington within the next few
months.
All of the laying up, both tenn
porary and permanent, will be done
by Maritime commission en-
ployes. It was estimated that g.
246 man-years of work would be
needed to perform the primary pre-
sentative work on the ships. Rough
ly half of the SIS, 900, 600 fund-or
5 1907, 368-is earmarked for per
sonal services" of which $2,250-
424 is for primary lay-up and ST.
702, 1872 for complete lay-ups, ST.
1928 ZIG together; 1929, 1858 is for
supervisory force and 2 ,424, 694
for fleet-service force. Also So, 020,-
900 is allowed for acquiring heavy
equipment such as tugs, launches
and barges, and 81, 400, 900 is al
lotted for towing the four hundred
ships from the James river to
Wilmington at Sc, 900 each.
Being partly dismantled, these
ships will be towed because it
will be uneconomical to reassemble
machinery to get them to the per-
manent site under their own
power, spokesman said. COMPETE
tive bidding on the towage con-
tract is about four months away.
Wilmington's permanent site will
provide a basin in virtually salt
free water of the Brunswick river.
Influencing the commission
choice of the Wilmington site were
a number of factors: it's location
in IAN important shipping, ship
building and repair area, away
from any great national strategic
centers and reasonably secluded:
soil and water conditions which
will create economical inclosed
storage and provide excellent pro-
lection from theft; location free
from severe temperature condi-
tons; water with a minimum of
salt content and free of destructive
chemicals and acids; elements
which control preservation of the
ships hull; absence of contamina-
ton of the air from industrial CEN
tiers which would speed deteriora-
ton OF paint and above water
structures"
Questioned by the bureau, a mari
time commission spokesman said
the reserve fleet site will have no
connection with the future develop
ment of the shipyard, which is
completing its last construction