Anchors Aweigh

Before the U.S. can have a fleet of postwar passenger liners, it must decide what types of ships it wants. Unlike British shipowners, who have wasted no time in placing orders for new ships, U.S. shipping men have dawdled over design, speed and size. So last week the U.S. Maritime Commission weighed anchor.

What the Maritime Commission proposed was to build eleven large, modern passenger liners. The fastest ships (29 knots) and largest (37,500 tons) would be assigned to the long transpacific service, would cut in half the prewar turnaround time of 56 days to Manila and back.

For the lucrative Mediterranean run that was once the virtual monopoly of the proud Italian liners Rex and Conte di Savoia, the Maritime Commission recommended 22-knot liners of 30,000 tons. To speed up service to the East Coast of South America, 27-knot ships were planned. At this speed, Rio would be only seven and a half days from New York v. eleven days prewar.

For the important North Atlantic service to Europe the Maritime Commission had designed a graceful, 24-knot, 33,500-ton liner that would carry 1,200 passengers to Britain in five days.

Along the waterfronts the Maritime Commission's plans for Atlantic lines were received in studied silence. Some operators had hoped for bigger and faster ships, said frankly that they needed ships with speeds of not less than 29 knots.

All operators wanted to know why the fastest ships would sail the Pacific, though the sharpest competition is on the Atlantic. Scuttlebutt had it that the State Department did not want U.S. lines to chase the British off the sea lanes by giving too much competition to their big and fast, but barely profitable, Queens.

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