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P&O Lines Buys Princess Cruises Princess Cruises has announced that an agreement has been final- ized in the negotiations to acquire their Los Angeles, Calif.-based cruise operation by P&O Lines of London. The purchase of Princess Cruis- es by P&O includes the 20,000-ton luxury ship Island Princess, and Princess Tours, Seattle, Wash.- based tour division of Princess Cruises. Under the new ownership, Prin- cess Cruises will retain its iden- tity, and P&O's popular 17,000- ton cruise ship Spirit of London will join with the Island Princess under the Princess Cruises ban- ner. Stanley B. McDonald, founder and president of Princess Cruises, which celebrates its 10th anni- versary next year, will remain as president and operating head of the company. The headquarters offices of Princess Cruises will remain in Los Angeles, and Mr. McDonald said that Princess and P&O em- ployees will be "blended" together as the two operations combine gradually over the next several months. In the new marketing opera- tion, Mr. McDonald stated that the two ships will be continental in both atmosphere and cuisine. He said that during her annual drydock in early October the Spirit of London will undergo certain aesthetic refurbishing changes to make her even more attractive than at present. Stanley B. McDonald (left), president of Los Angeles-based Princess Cruises, and Harry F. Spanton, chief executive of P&O Lines' Passenger Division, are shown on deck of the cruise ship Island Princess after finalizing agreement for P&O's pur- chase of Princess Cruises. In December the Island Prin- cess, following her annual dry- docking, will change from Nor- wegian to British flag. The change will see British officers and crew replacing their Norwegian coun- terparts. However the Italian din- ing room staff will remain un- changed. In the meantime, destinations and departures of both vessels will stay as scheduled this year. The Island Princess cruises to the Mexican Riviera, the Caribbean and South America, and Canada and Alaska in the summer. The Spirit of London cruises to Mex- ico, and Canada and Alaska. Mr. McDonald stated that he was elated with the merger. "My goal has always been to expand Princess Cruises, and now we are part of the largest shipping line in the world," he said. "P&O's net worth exceeds a billion dol- lars, and it operates a fleet of over 200 ships. Of all the cruise lines, P&O is by far the most qualified to enhance the growth of Prin- cess Cruises." Santa Barbara Channel Drilling To Be Resumed The United States Government has given the Exxon Company permission to resume develop- ment of oil and gas leases in the Santa Barbara Channel. The leases had been idle since 1969, when the oil blowout occurred in the California channel. The decision involves 17 leases covering about 83,000 acres in the Santa Ynez area of the channel, according to a spokesman for the Interior Department. The leases are held by Exxon, Shell, and Standard Oil of California, but a department spokesman said the three firms have an agreement for Exxon to do the drilling. We drive this rig to work. PHILADELPHIA GEAR Philadelphia marine gears are living up to their reputation for ruggedness on board Waage Drill I, a new semi- submersible self-propelled offshore oil drilling rig which is now hard at work in the North Sea. Built by Avon- dale Shipyards for K/S Waage Drill- ing A/S/Co. of Oslo, Norway, Waage I was designed to with- stand some of the world's worst weather. She can take 100-knot winds and 93 foot seas, and she can propel herself quickly to shelter. The 18,600-ton vessel can travel across oceans to the drilling site under her own power—which eliminates tow- ing costs of several thousand dollars a day. She can make up to 7 knots, or considerably faster than conventional towed platforms. In each of the submerged pon- toons, a pair of 2,000-HP electric motors drives a 9-foot propeller through a Philadelphia compound marine reduction drive. The drives are built for duty as tough as the rig itself. They use case hardened and precision ground gears for maximum durability, load carrying capacity and reliability. Philadelphia Gear has pio- neered advanced gear making tech- nology in marine drives, and applied it in the most modern, highest-powered ships afloat today, producing drives which are outstanding in compact- ness, efficiency and quiet oper- ation ... at economical cost. Write for a copy of our new catalog, "Philadelphia Marine Drives", or call any of our local offices. PhiladelphiaGearCorp., King of Prussia, PA 19406 Philadelphia gear boxes in the pontoons reduce 900 rpm motor speed to 325 rpm propeller speed. ii4 Maritime ?eoor+er / Engineering News
