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Todd Reports Profit —Suspends Dividends To Permit Expansion John T. Gilbride, president of Todd Shipyards Corporation, released highlights from the forthcoming an- nual report in a special letter to share- holders. Sales for the year ended March 31, 1973, increased to $182,098,352 from $131,888,866 for the preceding year. Net income was $287,624—$0.19 per share—compared with a loss of $3,- 119,134— $2.10 per share—for the preceding year, primarily attributable to increased ship repair activity. As a result of the demands for huge supertankers (VLCCs or Very Large Crude Carriers) to meet the needs for energy, Todd is obligated to be- gin a costly expansion program for the future. The economic require- ments of such a program will neces- sitate the suspension of dividends for the time being, according to Mr. Gil- bride. This critical decision requires the company to break a consecutive 57-year record of quarterly dividend payments. Mr. Gilbride stated his optimism for the future, however, and pointed out that the projected magnitude of business for Todd dur- ing the next decade would more than double, presaging a period as great as any in the company's entire history. Super Ocean Carrier Conference Scheduled Jan. 23-25 In N.Y.C. The first international Super Ocean Carrier Conference (SOC- CO) has been scheduled for New York City next January 23-25. Plans for the conference, which will be held in the Americana Ho- tel, were announced by Robert E. Apple, chairman of the conference steering committee, and vice presi- dent of Alexander Marine Associ- ates. Mr. Apple said the conference will examine problems associated with the marine industry's trend toward 'million-ton ocean carriers —more than twice the size of the largest tankers in use today. The chairman also announced the appointment of the first mem- ber of the SOCCO board of ad- visors—Keith C. McKinney, direc- tor of liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects for Southern California Gas Co., and vice president and general manager of Pacific Alaska LNG Co. "The marine industry, in moving toward the million-ton ocean carri- er, must carefully examine prob- lems to be solved concerning struc- ture, power, navigation, finance, construction facilities, ecology, in- surance and safety," Mr. Apple said. "These problems, which will be examined at the conference, are al- so applicable to the one-third to one-balf-miMion-'ton tankers now being constructed and operated, as well as the smaller but more ex- pensive LNG tankers," Mr. Apple stated. More than 35 papers will be pre- sented on a cross section of topics dealing with designing, building and operating million-ton carriers. Other topics will include economic, technical and other advantages of of large carriers; logistic rami- fications; port and harbor deepen- ing; offshore loading facilities, and environmental considerations. In addition to the technical pro- gram, there will be equipment and vessel design exhibits. Other members of the SOCCO steering committee are John Mar- riner, consulting naval architect, former vice president of the Cali- fornia Shipbuilding Corp. and gen- eral manager of its predecessor company, Craig Shipbuilding Co., Long Beach; and M.J. Richardson, president of Symcon Marine Corp., and executive director of the World Dredging Conference Assn. (WODCON). WODCON is the largest international organization of the dredging industry. Symcon Marine, which has been responsible for 12 major interna- tional conferences for WODCON as well as for the Offshore Explor- ation Conference (OECON), will manage the Super Ocean Carrier Conference. Exhibit and technical paper in- formation is available by writing SOCCO, Box 269, San Pedro, Calif. 90733. They couldn't stretch the hull, so we shrank the gearing. The unusual hull design for this new roll-on roll-off ship really put the squeeze on its propulsion ma- chinery. Two 9000 HP Pielstick diesel engines, made by Crossley Premier Engines Ltd., and their gear re- The 20,000-ton "RO-RO" Laurentian Forest, built by Port Weller Dry Docks Ltd., St. Catharines, Ontario, for Burnett Steamship Company, will carry newsprint to Europe and return with trucks and cars. ducers, had to fit into a pair of restricted pods. And the gearing to reduce the engine output speed from 520 rpm to 110 rpm was specified as Lloyd's Ice Class 1. This meant 25% higher rating — actually 11,250 HP — to withstand propeller shock loading from ice in the North Atlantic. Conventional "soft gearing" would have re- quired a bull gear 50% greater in diameter— much larger than the available space—or alternately a face-width so extreme that problems of deflection and end loading of teeth would have made the de- sign unsatisfactory. The solution: Philadelphia Gear Reducers, with case-hardened and ground gearing. The bull gears were the biggest single helical hardened and ground marine gears ever made in this country. But for this application, they were unusually com- pact; actually, 40% smaller than "soft" gears of the same capacity, because of the extra load trans- mission capability of hardened and ground gears. Before you gear up for your next ship, let's get together and reduce the problems. Write Philadel- phia Gear Corporation, King of Prussia, Pa. 19406. Or call (215) 265-3000. PMUDBPHU GEAR May 15, 1973 21
