The New Cunarders

The most notable event in shipping circles during 1903 was the government agreement with the Cunard Company, for the building of two vessels of higher speed than any liners in existence. It is an eminently desirable and satisfactory arrangement from the British point of view, and the development of its scientific and technical aspects will be followed with an intensity of interest which can perhaps only be paralleled within living memory by the construction of the "Great Eastern." The reasons for this we shall note directly.

Cunard Agreement

Ten years have elapsed since the "Campania" and "Lucania" made the last British record of 22 knots, since which period five German liners have eclipsed the performance of these ships. It is confidently believed that the Cunard Company will be able to exceed the limits imposed by the government terms - of a minimum average ocean speed of 24 1/2 knots an hour in moderate weather. This will be a knot above the "crack" German vessels.

Subject to certain very fair conditions, the government will advance a sum not exceeding $3,000,000 for the building of the two new vessels. This will be secured by a charge upon the whole of the company's assets. It is to be advanced in instalments on the inspector certifying the attainment of certain stages of progress in the work, and the sum will have to be repaid in twenty yearly instalments.

For the mail service the company will receive $340,000 per annum, with extra payment for mails weighing over 100 tons (or 4,000 cubic feet measurement), carried in any one week. The plans for the vessels are not yet made public.

The Fast Boats

That the new departure will pay seems assured, because statistics show that the fastest boats, notwithstanding their higher rates, attract more passengers than the slower boats do. The latter are just as comfortable, and the cuisine is the same, yet a knot or two more in speed doubles and trebles the first-class passengers, to whom in many cases time is money.

Thus, in one week in April, 1903, the "Kaiser Wilhelm II." left New York with 521 first-class, and 355 second-class passengers, while on the same day a vessel of the American Line left with only 82 first-class and 72 second-class passengers. On one day in May the "Kronprinz Wilhelm" left with 380 first and 187 second class passengers, while on the following day a White Star liner took 149 first and 160 second class. Such significant contrasts might be largely multiplied.

"Cedric" Record. - The big fast ships suffer less from rough weather than the smaller, slower ones, and that apart from speed attracts. The surgeon of the "Cedric," next to the largest liner, reported that on her maiden voyage not a single passenger was seasick. A wine glass, brimming full, was placed on the edge of a sideboard, and left undisturbed throughout the voyage, but not a drop was spilled, nor did the glass move.

The Price Of Speed

The increased price that must be paid for speed is a matter that lies in a nutshell. The reason is that a slight advance in speed requires an immense increase in engine power and vast coal storage. These increase the displacement, which again makes still greater demands on the power required. By the time these are provided for, there is no cargo space left worth mentioning. There the limit to size for that speed is reached, and to obtain higher rates involves bigger vessels. This, too, explains why improvements in the design of and economical working of engines and boilers is so eagerly sought after with a view to reduce the cubical space required for these in the hull, and is also one reason why steam turbines are being put on vessels of increasingly large dimensions.

Cost In Coal

The Admiralty Committee on "Subsidies to Merchant Cruisers" have issued some tabular statements which show the price of speed in a very graphic way. From one of these we see that while a 20-knot steamer consumes 2,228 tons of coal on a 3,000 mile voyage, a 26-knot one will be expected to consume 6,131 tons; and that the 19,000 horsepower of the first must give place to the enormous total of 68,000 horsepower for the last. The cost again of the vessel is $1,750,000 in the slower ship, and $6,250,000 in the swifter. A heavy price truly to pay for the extra six knots! But the investment is a good one on passenger liners as the previous paragraph shows. The next table shows these and other points in a striking manner:

The following table compiled from Lloyd's gives the number of vessels built in Great Britain, arranged according to size. They vary somewhat from the returns quoted on other pages.