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British Shipowner Organizations Merge The Chamber of Shipping of the United Kingdom and the British Shipping Federation are to unite to form one national organization rep- resenting the interests of- British shipowners. The new organization will be called the General Council of Brit- ish Shipping. Final approval for its creation was given by the annual meeting of the Chamber of Ship- ping. It had already been endorsed by the BSF's annual meeting. The intention is that the General Council of British Shipping will, in due course, take over the functions of the Chamber and the Federation. But it will take some time for the details of its organization and con- stitution to be worked out. Mean- while, both the Chamber and the Federation will continue to operate in their present 'form. In the com- ing months, the General Council will be primarily concerned with the evolution of the new structure and with major issues affecting the industry as a whole. The target date for it becoming fully operative is March 1, 1975. J. Lindsay Alexander, chairman of Ocean Transport & Trading Ltd., newly elected president of the Chamber of Shipping, will be the first president of the new organiza- tion. Six Offshore Supply Vessels To Be Built In Rhode Island Yard Blount Marine Corporation of Warren, R.I., has been awarded a contract by National Boat Corpora- tion of Wilmington, -Del., and Hou- ston, Texas, to build six 190-foot by 38-foot Support Ships to be used primarily in the offshore oil indus- try. Ships of this type are employed for supplying and servicing the full scope of offshore oil activity from submerged oil field exploration to anchoring and shifting producing oil rigs. Each vessel, for instance, can carry 600 tons o'f drilling pipe, 850 tons of drilling mud and cargo, or 6,000 gallons of water. Each ves- sel will be powered with two 1,200- hp diesel engines, two 75-kw diesel electric generators and a 300-hp bow thuster. Air-conditioned quar- ters for 12 men will be furnished. The vessels will be built to U.S. Coast Guard and American Bureau of Shipping inspection for ocean service. The first vessel is scheduled for a late fall delivery, with the others following at 75-day intervals. A production line is being set up at the Warren shipyard for the pro- gressive construction and outfitting of three vessels simultaneously. It is planned to construct each vessel upside down, to be launched deck down, and after righting, the pre- fabricated superstructure and ma- chinery will be positioned. A training program is being planned in conjunction with the Governor's Office for Manpower to instruct 25 new employees in the use of automatic welding tech- niques and related skills. Training for these positions will be available to women as well as men. Tests conducted at Blount Marine show excellent welding aptitudes for women. In World War II, it was "Rosie the Riveter." At Blount Ma- rine, in the crusade for more ener- gy, it will be "Wendy the Welder." Blount Marine has, in the past 10 years, emerged as a predominant builder of passenger and ferry ves- sels in the United States. One year, this Rhode Island yard designed and built 60 percent of all such craft over 65 feet turned out in the •entire United States. The energy crunch, however, prompted com- pany officials to turn its engineer- ing and production toward the in- crease of energy. At the same time, increasing its gross product and job potential. Some 15 years ago, Blount pio- neered a series of smaller offshore 011 vessels for major oil field opera- tors which are now in service off Louisiana, Texas, and California. It is anticipated that the sixth supply ship may well be the 200th vessel in the Blount roster. A value of the National Boat contract is set at $8,000,000. At the present time, the Blount shipyard is in the last stages of completing the $3,000,000 hospital ship for Saint John's Guild of New York. ASTANO "£HUN WOO" 3 SHIPS 2 SHIPS 4 SHIPS 325,000 DWT 2 x 18,700 SHP PETRONOR PAN OCEAN BULK CARRIER (GULF] 361,073 DWT 2x18,700 SHP GULF OIL Co. Cia. MARITIMA RIO GULF 300,000 DWT 36,000 SHP NAVIERA VIZCAINA NAVIERA LETASA NAVIERA VASCONGADA NAVIERA BILBAINA NAVIERA AZNAR 275,000 DWT 32,000 SHP 5 SHIPS TEXACO INC MARFLET HIDECA 230,000 DWT 2 x 20,300 SHP 1 SHIP AFRAN TRANSPORT Co. (GULF] 265,400 DWT 2 x 20,300 SHP 3 SHIPS AFRAN TRANSPORT Co. (GULF] TOTAL 18 SHIPS WITH 5,298,346 DWT Astilleros y Talleres del Noroeste, S. A. SPAIN HEAD OFFICE: GENERAL PERON, 29 - MADRID-20 TELEPHONE: 416 71 00 TELEGRAMS: ASTANO-MADRID SHIPYARD: EL FERROL DEL CAUDILLO TELEPHONE: 35 81 40 TELEGRAMS: ASTANO-FERROL FOR QUICK RESPONSE: TELEX 27608 E A 40 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News
