Our Orphaned Superships

That legendary character who built his boat too big to get out of the basement is in good company. You taxpayers are subsidizing the construction of six tankers that, fully loaded, cannot enter any U.S. Atlantic or Gulf port. Under the Merchant Marine Act of 1970, the U.S. Government pays $164 million (43 per cent) of their cost, thus making our shipyards competitive with Japanese or other foreign builders. The largest of these, a 265,000-deadweight ton (DWT) ship, is still undersized by today’s yardstick. 1966 saw the first 400 foreign tankers in the 250,000-to-300,000-ton class. The queen of them all, the Globtik Tokyo, boasts 477,000 DWT. Unfortunately, we never reap their benefits because our ports are inadequate.

Every time we buy a gallon of gas or a tankful of fuel oil we pay the penalty. In comparison with a 35,000-ton tanker, the largest our Delaware River ports can handle, the Globtik saves $1.3 million in transportation cost on every trip from the Persian Gulf to Japan. The reasons for this economy are basic. The Globtik’s construction cost, per barrel capacity, was one-half that of her little 35,000-ton sister. Depreciation and interest charges per barrel are therefore halved. Since the supertanker’s crew complement and turnaround time are the same as for the smaller ships, the transport labor per barrel is only one-twelfth that of the 35,000-ton ship.

RW

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Roger Ward

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That legendary character who built his boat too big to get out of the basement is in good company. You taxpayers are subsidizing the construction of six tankers that, fully loaded, cannot enter any U.S. Atlantic or Gulf port. Under the Merchant Marine Act of 1970, the U.S. Government pays $164 million (43 per cent) of their cost, thus making our shipyards competitive with Japanese or other foreign builders. The largest of these, a 265,000-deadweight ton (DWT) ship, is still undersized by today’s yardstick. 1966 saw the first 400 foreign tankers in the 250,000-to-300,000-ton class. The queen of them all, the Globtik Tokyo, boasts 477,000 DWT. Unfortunately, we never reap their benefits because our ports are inadequate.

Every time we buy a gallon of gas or a tankful of fuel oil we pay the penalty. In comparison with a 35,000-ton tanker, the largest our Delaware River ports can handle, the Globtik saves $1.3 million in transportation cost on every trip from the Persian Gulf to Japan. The reasons for this economy are basic. The Globtik’s construction cost, per barrel capacity, was one-half that of her little 35,000-ton sister. Depreciation and interest charges per barrel are therefore halved. Since the supertanker’s crew complement and turnaround time are the same as for the smaller ships, the transport labor per barrel is only one-twelfth that of the 35,000-ton ship.