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Mercantile Marine Engineering Building Graving Dock For Large Ships Calling At Antwerp In view of the ever-growing sizes of ships and the decision of the Antwerp Port Authori- ties to make the river Scheldt navigable for vessels of 125,000 deadweight tons, the Mer- cantile Marine Engineering & Graving Docks Co. N.V. Antwerpen, with an eye to the fu- ture, is building a sixth private graving dock capable of taking the largest vessels calling at Antwerp. The laying of concrete has reached the fin- ishing stage, and it is hoped that the dock will be commissioned in September 1974. This all-concrete dock with pressure-relieved floorslabs and sidewalls has a permanent drain- age system which leads the soil water into a pumpwell which is emptied at intervals. All around the dock, a sheet-piling curtain has been drawn into the clay layer about 79 feet below the ground level for reducing the rate of ground water seeping into the drainage system. Depending on the size oi the ship, the new dock can be filled in approximately two hours and emptied in about two hours and 40 min- utes. Six capstans, each with an 8-ton pull and two 12-ton windlasses will be installed at the dock's head to assist vessels coming in for repairs. The new dock will be equipped with coup- ling boxes for ballast, high pressure and drink- ing water, compressed air, oxygen, acetylene, electricity and telephones. The new dock will be lighted with 89 pro- jectors placed in the bottom of the walls with 10 pylons around the dock for overhead light- ing. Showers and hygienic facilities will be in- stalled for the use of the ship's crew and for the workers. A lift will be installed for mate- rial and to save worker's time in entering and leaving the facility. The graving dock presently under construction at Mer- cantile Engineering & Graving Docks Co., Antwerp. It is expected the dock will be operational in September. Temporarily, the dock will be serviced by two cranes, one of 100 tons and one of 25 tons, with heavier equipment to be installed at a later date. The yard designed and built the dock gate, which weighs a total of 330 tons. Shoring of the vessels will be done automatically, using a system which was also designed and built by the yard and which has proven to give satisfactory service after many years of use in the company's other drydocks. Mercantile Marine Engineering & Graving Docks Company is represented in the United States by Marine Repair and Construction Cor- poration—International, 17 Battery Place, New York, N.Y. 10004. Crichton And Turnbull Named To MacGregor Centrex Board SERVICE D.E. Turnbull Continuing the expansion of its European operations, MacGregor announces the appoint- ments of Sir Andrew Crichton and D.E. Turn- bull to the 'board of MacGregor Centrex Lim- ited. Based near London Airport, MacGregor Centrex is the parent company of the Group's U.K. operating companies, which are mem- bers of the International MacGregor Organi- sation, world leaders in the supply of sliip- access equipment. Joining MacGregor as a non-executive di- rector, Sir Andrew was chairman of Overseas Containers Ltd., from its formation in 1966 until 1973. He is a member of the U.K. Cham- ber of Shipping Council, vice chairman of the Port of London Authority and a member of the National Freight Corporation. His other directorships include P & O, Hodge Finance Ltd., Jessel Trust ltd., Southern Ferries Ltd., and he is a member of the Court of the Char- tered Bank. Previous to his appointment as commercial director of MacGregor Centrex Ltd., Mr. Turn- bull was a senior executive of the P & O Group, which he joined in 1952. After working for the Group in the Far East, he returned to the U.K. in 1965, and became development manager of the P & O General Cargo Divi- sion. He has a B.A. degree in economics from St. John's College, Cambridge. Maritime Reporter/Engineering News GILLEN BACKS EVERY JOB ...with over 100 years of _ the best in service WEST END AVENUE, OYSTER BAY, NEW YORK, N.Y. 11771 • 212-895-8110 32 Sir Andrew Crichton
