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THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

May 4, 1917.

are specially adapted for the ore carrying trade, about
500,000 tons of ore being shipped yearly.

Yet another port of prominence in connection with
the discharge of coal is Skien, the cargoes discharged
there during 1913 amounting to over 85,000 tons. The
harbour has been extended and new quays constructed.

Amongst the important steamship lines of Norway
may be named the Norwegian-American, Bergenske,
Thoresen, Norwegian-Mexican, and Olsen. The Nor-
wegian-American is the latest, and possesses the largest
vessels—12,000 tons; the Bergenske is engaged in
coastal services, as well as to the United Kingdom and
Holland; the Thoresen line serves Spain, Portugal,
and the Canary Islands, as well as East Africa; and
there is a service to Buenos Ayres by the Olsen
steamers.

During recent years Germany has wrested from
Great Britain the foremost position as regards exports
to Norway. Taking the year 1913, coal formed the
principal item of British imports into Norway, both in
tonnage and value, the item next in value being steam-
ships ; whilst cereals and other materials of food
formed the principal item in value of imports from
Germany, metals and textile goods taking second and
third places.

Sweden.

Coal is available to some extent in Sweden, and is
mined in Scania ; the coal-bearing area so far proved

Fig. 3.—Coal Transporter at Malmo.

			

amounts to some 600 square miles, and is estimated to
contain about 40 million tons. The seams are, how-
ever, comparatively thin, and the coal mining industry
has not been extensively developed. Sweden, there-
fore, has to rely on other sources of supply, as her
requirements are considerable.

The coal shipments from England to Sweden during
the year 1913 amounted to 4,563,000 tons, but in 1915
the figure fell to about 2,660,000 tons, and last year
only 1,646,500 tons were loaded for Swedish ports. This
reduction in coal shipments from the United Kingdom
has been brought about by shipping shortage, high
freights, and the measures introduced to limit and
control the direction of British coal exports. The
greatly reduced supplies of English coal to Sweden
have resulted in consignments being received from
Germany. Spitzbergen also is expected to supply a
large proportion of Sweden’s coal requirements, and a
considerable area of coal-bearing lands have been
acquired with that object.

As regards shipping, Sweden has developed a mer-
cantile marine of some importance, and to name a few
of the principal lines-—there is the Nordstiena, with a
regular service to Argentine and Brazil; the Lund-
gren, which is concerned with the South African trade;
and the East Asiatic Company (of Copenhagen) run a
service of steamers between Gothenburg, China, and
Japan. Then must be added the vessels of the Welin
Line, including the s.s. “ Norbotten,” of 8,000 tons;
and the Lulea Ofoten Company’s vessels engaged in
the ore carrying trade, which include the s.s. “ Ernest
Cassel,” with a cargo capacity of about 11,000 tons.
This vessel is specially constructed for rapid discharge
with her own gear, about 300 tons per hour being
dealt with.

Gothenburg is the principal port of Sweden, and
the harbour accommodation there is being consider-
ably extended by the construction of additional deep
water quays to accommodate the largest vessels. In
normal times, about 800,000 to 1,000,000 tons of coal
are discharged yearly at this port. The Swedish State
Railways administration have coal-discharging equip-
ment of American design at Gothenburg, consisting of
a steeple type of crane with straight boom sloping
downward and outward.

It may here be noted that tenders were recently
called for 200,000 tons of best north country coal from
England, deliveries to extend ovei- six months, which
serves to indicate the coal requirements for the rail-
ways alone.

Sieurin System of Discharging Coal.

It should be noted that the Sieurin system of dis-
charging coal-carrying steamers originated in Sweden.
In this system, special mechanically-operated scoops or
shovels replace grabs, but have quite a different action,
the filling of the shovel being effected by horizontal
motion, and not by being lowered on to the coal verti-
cally, as in the case of grabs. The shovel can be
worked from the ship’s own derricks by means of
winches, which operate hauling and lifting ropes; and
the shovel can be hauled to all corners of the hold, thus
eliminating trimming almost entirely. This system is
certainly most effective and simple, and it is somewhat
surprising that it has not met with more general recog-
nition. This may, however, be attributed partly to

the labour obstacles met with when a vessel is not con-
fined to regular ports, as in the case of tramp steamers,
and when reduced labour results in threats of strikes.
It is proposed to refer to this system in greater detail
in a future article dealing with the subject of self-
discharging steamers. Meantime, it will suffice
perhaps to mention that the system has been applied
to several steamers, one of the largest of which was the
s.s. “ St. Paul,” which was constantly running in the
coal trade between Gothenburg and the Humber and
north-east coast ports of England from the year 1907
until the autumn of 1914, when it was sunk by a mine.
That vessel was equipped with eight of the mechanical
shovels or scoops referred to, and could discharge a
cargo of 4,000 tons of coal in 14 hours. Owing to the
ship being independent of shore equipment, and
capable of quick discharge, it was generally found
advantageous to make the outward voyage to England
in ballast. The writer visited Gothenburg a few years
back, to investigate and report on the Sieurin system
of discharging coal, and had the opportunity of study-
ing its working on the above-mentioned vessel. The
system has also been adapted to a shore equipment at
Gothenburg for discharging coal from barges, which
equipment continues in satisfactory use. Briefly, it
comprises a gantry at the wharf side, which spans
railway tracks; the winch cabin is supported on the
gantry, and at its base two long converging booms

extend over the water side. At the end of these booms
is a sheave, over which the hauling rope for. the shovel
is led from the winch; the booms are hinged at the
gantry side, and can be hoisted up out of the way when
not in use. In discharging a barge, the operation is
effected by lowering the boom on to the top of the coal
in the barge lengthwise—fore and aft—and the shovel

Fig. 4.—Coal Bunkering

Depot at Copenhagen.

is hauled forward, and thus filled; the lifting rope
attached to the shovel is then hauled in, and the shovel
brought to the gantry and discharged into hopper
chutes, by which railway wagons are loaded. (Fig. 2.)

Swedish Ports.

Although Gothenburg is the principal port of
Sweden, Stockholm, the capital, is a close second as
regards the number of vessels registered at that port,
Malmo and Helsingborg being the next most promi-
nent ports.

The harbour of Stockholm provides extensive
quayage, and vessels drawing 23 ft. can go alongside.
Electric and steam crane equipment is available at
both the Stadsgarden and Malar quays, whilst at
Vartan equipment is specially provided for loading
ores, and also for discharging coal for the requirements
of the State Railways and the gas works. In addition,
there are a considerable number of floating steam
cranes for loading and discharging at anchorage.

The port of Malmo has an entrance depth of 24 ft.
of water, and the new harbour is 2,360 ft. in length
and 490 ft. wide, an inner harbour being provided by
jetties, which give 22 ft. of water alongside. These
jetties are equipped with electric cranes, and there are
four transporters, specially provided for the discharge
of coal. (Fig. 3.) The coal cargoes consigned to that
port total about 340,000 tons a year.

At Helsingborg, the harbour has 23 ft. depth of
water, and the quays are equipped with both electric

cranes and transporters. Coal shipments received
there amount to about 160,000 to 180,000 tons a year.

At Raa, a small port near Helsingborg, there is coal
discharging equipment consisting of a movable tower
type Temperley transporter, with a capacity of about
50 tons per hour—lifting 2|-ton loads at a speed of
120 ft. per minute, and transporting at a speed of
600 ft. per minute. Both the hoisting and travelling
motions of the trolley, which is self-contained, are
effected by a single electric motor, and the tower is
moved by hand along the quay on a rail track of 13 ft.
gauge. This transporter is used either with a grab or
a skip when discharging coal, but it is also used for
handling briquettes, for which a special form of tray
is utilised. The total transporting distance is 65 ft.,
and the end of the beam, which extends 29 ft. over the
water side, is hinged. The gantry of the plant allows
of the passage of railway wagons for loading, whilst the
shore end of the beam provides for stacking.

A rather different type of Temperley transporter is
used at Karlstad, which is a port, near Gothenburg,
on Lake Vanern, accessible by the Trolhatten Canal.
This equipment is used for discharging vessels and
stacking alongside the quay, or for loading railway
wagons direct. It is movable along the quay on a rail
track of 33 ft. gauge, which allows of two lines of rail-
way track between. The. beam, which is inclined, is
56 ft. long, and a rope-driven trolley is operated from
a winch cabin on the gantry. This transporting
trolley, which handles skips, is traversed along the
beam at a speed of 400 ft. per minute, and the hoist-
ing speed with a 28 cwt. load is about 200 ft. per
minute.

At Varberg, south of Gothenburg, there is a bridge
transporter for discharging coal with a grab, and for
delivery to railway wagons or storage. Other ports
also concerned with the discharge of coal cargoes
include Norrkoping, Carlskrona, and Halmstad. At
Norrkoping, which is situated south of Stockholm, elec-
tric cranes are available for discharging along the
quay, and floating cranes are used for discharging at
anchorage to lighters. Carlskrona is a naval station,
and therefore is concerned with the coal requirements
of the Swedish Navy; there is a large harbour, with
good accommodation for merchant shipping. At
Halmstad, near Helsingborg, coal forms the principal
item of import as regards tonnage, and about 80,000
to 100.000 tons are discharged there yearly in normal
times; whilst granite, timber, and wood pulp are the
principal exports. It is therefore used by a consider-
able tonnage of shipping. At Landskrona, and also
at several other ports, from about 50,000 to 80,000 tons
of coal are discharged yearly.

The port of Oxelosund, near Norrkoping, and south
of Stockholm, is developing on account of the ship-
ment of iron ore from the Grangesburg district. It
may be mentioned that about 624,000 tons were shipped
during the year 1913. Lulea, in the north of Sweden,
is also an iron ore shipping port, about 1,000,000 tons
being dealt with from Lapland during that same year.

Of late years. British trade with Scandinavia has
increased remarkablv : in fact, it is five times the value
it was 50 years back, and the Baltic and North Sea
ports form the second largest market for British coal

exports—the requirements of Scandinavia, which is
included in that market, being about 10,000,000 tons
in 1913.

As regards bunkering, Copenhagen occupies a pro-
minent position for vessels in the Baltic trade, and the
depot illustrated (fig. 4) was referred to in the last
article of this series.

Strikes in Germany.—The' Socialist organ, V olksrecht,
learns from travellers arriving from Germany that in the
industrial parts of the country great disturbances have
occurred, and that many strikes are in progress. At Ham-
burg, it is stated 35,000 men are on strike, and extensive
strikes are also reported from coal fields in the Rhineland,
where large military forces are concentrated. Another
strike has broken out in the coal fields of Anspach, where
the miners refuse to return to work until they are pro-
vided with proper and sufficient food. On January 10, the
German Miners’ Union and the German Trade Union of
Christian Miners addressed a petition to the German Asso-
ciation of Mine Owners, asking for an increase of wages,
and, as no reply was given, they sent another communica-
tion to the mine owners on April 14, repeating the request.
The Leipziger V olkszeitung remarks that the state of dis-
tress of the miners has increased recently, and that higher
wages are urgently necessary if the men are to continue to
labour. The patience of the miners has been severely
taxed, the paper concludes, because no reply was given to
their petition, and their wages have not been revised.