Glasgow And Ships Of The Clyde

Bulk carrier ROMANDIE launched by Charles Connell Shipbuilders, Scotstoun, Glasgow

TWO  CLYDE  LAUNCHINGS

YARD’s  FIRST  FOR  A  SWISS  FIRM

    Two bulk carriers, each of about 33,000 tons deadweight, were launched within minutes of each other on the Clyde.

   At Scotstoun, Charles Connell and Co. put into the water the ROMANDIE, building for Helica S.A. of Geneva, and the largest ship so far constructed at the yard.

   Sir Charles Connell, chairman of the firm, said it was the first ship in 103 years to be built by them for Swiss owners.   They had not met these owners until September of last year but within eight days of making contact an order had been placed and the ship had been launched a year and a day later.

SWISS  SULZER  ENGINE

   Mr. Georges Andre, president of Helica S.A., whose wife performed the naming ceremony, said it was 12 years since their first ROMANDIE had been built on the East Coast of Scotland.   Since then they had 10 ships built in Yugoslavia before coming back to Scotland,

   The ROMANDIE, which will be managed by Suisse Atlantique, a member of the Helica Group, will be the largest ship in the Swiss merchant fleet and has an overall length of 630ft. (192 metres).    Cargo will be carried in three short and four long holds.

    She is powered by a Swiss-built Sulzer diesel engine.   The engine, which was in position before the ship was launched, was installed by Barclay, Curle and Co., Scotstoun, and is capable of developing 13,800 h.p.   It has Sulzer pneumatic remote control from a console in the engine room and from a bridge console.

GOVAN  LAUNCH

   The other bulk carrier launched was the 32,800-ton deadweight CLUDEN built by the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company Ltd., Govan, for the Matheson Shipping Co. Ltd., London.

   The CLUDEN, which was named by Miss Margaret Keswick, daughter of a director of the owning company, is 625ft  x 85 x 48 ¾ and designed for the carriage of iron ore, grain or coal in bulk, or general cargo.   She is powered by a Fairfield-Rowan Sulzer diesel engine.

   This completes a programme of four launches, valued at £20m., begun with the destroyer H.M.S. FIFE on July 9.

   On completion the CLUDEN, the first large ship owned by Matheson’s, will be chartered to a well known Norwegian shipping company on a medium-term basis.

CLYDE  SHIPBUILDING

   The large tankers already launched this year on the Clyde – totaling about 200,000 tons deadweight, together with others scheduled before the end of December – will continue to provide the largest share of tonnage in this year’s output figures.   This will be challenged, however, by the increasing number of bulk carriers being built.