900

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN

November 10, 1916.

struction, being formed of steel discs connected by
rods, with the object of preventing coal from being
wedged between the buckets and the drums. The
buckets are connected to plates instead of chains, and
thus form a steel belt. It is claimed for these elevators
that they are self-contained, portable, and can be
adapted to various conditions, similar equipment having
been used extensively for bunkering at New York
Harbour, Hoboken, etc.

In considering these modem coaling arrangements
which have been provided at the terminals of the
Panama Canal, the most noticeable feature is perhaps
that of the under-water storage—intended solely for the
naval requirements of the United States — and the
continuation of the dry storage above the under-water
storage. Then, the different types of equipment which
have been provided for the several services of discharg-
ing, storing, transferring, and loading, will be observed,
and will probably be commented upon from the point
of view of the several handlings, and the question of
maintenance costs. Comparison may also be made with
the facilities at the terminals of the Suez Canal, where
no mechanical equipment is available. In addition to
provision for coal supplies, it should be remembered
that arrangements have also been provided for supplying
fuel oil to vessels using the canal, as well as for the

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Fig. 2.—Coal Discharging and Storage Equipment at Balboa.

protective one, the trading effect of the project has been
weighed carefully and appreciated—the United States
being a commercial nation. It is rather beyond the
scope of our subject to discuss the questions of general
administration, tolls, and conditions imposed on vessels
using the canal, except so far as concerns coal supplies.
It will therefore suffice, perhaps, to mention that the
expenditure incurred on and attending the construction
of the canal is stated to be equivalent to about
£85,000,000, and the cost of maintenance was estimated
as equivalent to about £500,000 per annum. To cover
interest on the capital expenditure, and maintenance
charges alone, must therefore mean extensive use of the
canal, or, on the other hand, will necessitate heavy
'tolls.

As regards routes, it is probable that the canal will
be generally used by vessels traversing the North
Atlantic from Europe and the east coast of America,
bound for Pacific ports, and vice versa. To mention a
few voyages affected by the Panama Canal, from the
point of view of distance saved—Montreal to Australia,
2,740 miles; New York to Australia, 2,300 miles; Eng-
land to New Zealand, 1,600 miles; England to Ohili,
1,600 miles; and New York to China, 1,400 miles. It
can thus be seen that a vessel from this country, steam-
ing at an average speed of 14 knots, will reduce the

States and Canada amounted to about 13 per cent.;
vessels between Europe and the Pacific ports of South
and Central America represented about 14 per cent.;
between South and Central American Atlantic and
Pacific ports, about 19 per cent.; and vessels from the
United States Atlantic ports to Australia and New
Zealand, about 11 per cent, of the total number. The
actual number of vessels carrying cargo was 983, and
the amount of cargo was about 5,000,000 tons.

The receipts from tolls during the same period
amounted to the equivalent of about £870,000, and the
maintenance costs to about £832,500. This latter figure
does not include depreciation, or capital charges, and the
former figure is reduced by the refund of excess charges
through the rate having been reduced to 1*25 dols. A
comparison has been made between the tonnage which
passed through the canal during the above-mentioned
period and that handled by the Panama Railroad Com-
pany across the Isthmus the previous year, which
totalled about 643,000 tons.

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Fig. 3.—General Plan of Coaling Station at Balboa.

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United States naval requirements. At both terminals
of the canal storage tanks have been provided by the
Government, as well as a wharf equipped with oil pump-
ing plant; and leases of ground for oil storages are
granted, the tanks of which will be connected by pipe
lines with the pumping plant, the charge for pumping
being 4c. per barrel (42 gals.).

Economic Considerations.

The distance saved is perhaps the first consideration
deciding ocean routes, as it means reduced freight
charges on account of lower cost of the voyage, and
greater earning capacity of vessels; also saving of time,
which improves the conditions of, and increases, over-
sea commerce. Whether the Panama Canal will have
as great an effect on ocean commerce now as the Suez
Canal did at the time of its opening, is a question which
must largely depend on the administration. Although
doubtless the principal consideration which decided the
construction of the Panama Canal was a political and

voyage to New Zealand or Chili by about four days.
New York will have an advantage over England in trad-
ing with Australasia and Japan by reduced freight
charges, and therefore reduced cost of goods. Regarding
the position of Japan, important developments are anti-
cipated in the maritime commerce of that country, and
proposals have been under consideration for a new ser-
vice between Japan and New York vid the Panama
Canal, with calls at New Orleans and Galveston. The
principal object of this proposed service is 'to improve
the traffic facilities for tea and silk cargoes from Japan,
which are now discharged at San Francisco or Seattle,
and are railborne to the east coast of North America.

As to the traffic which actually passed through the
canal during the first 10 months after it was opened,
the following particulars may be noted :—The vessels
engaged in the coastwise trade of the United States
represented about 31 per cent, of the total; vessels
bound between Europe and the west coast of the United

A comparison with the Suez Canal may here also be
of interest. During 1913, the year prior to the com-
mencement of the war, when the conditions were
normal, about 5,000 vessels passed through that canal,
and the tolls amounted to over £5,000,000. It may be
added that the cost of the Suez Canal, including
improvements, has amounted to about £24,000,000.

The question of distance affecting ocean trading
routes must largely. depend on ‘ the possibility of
securing return freights. If a vessel can save in time
and cost by a shorter route, that saving may be more
than outweighed if the return voyage has to be made
in ballast; or if, to obtain return freight, the route has
to be deviated from; and this really tends to the subject
of coaling. The facilities for obtaining bunker supplies
en route will, it must be remembered, increase cargo
capacity, and aid intermediate freight being obtained;
and therefore the effect of such conditions may be that
a longer route is, in the end, more profitable than a