Text 3b

SHORT HISTORICAL OUTLINE

During the early 1900's, the standard general cargo ship was a three-islands. Its name came from three structures that stood out above the main deck like sepa­rate islands. The forecastle, which held the crew's quar­ters, formed one island at the bow. The bridge, from which the ship was navigated, formed the second island in the middle of the ship. The engine room was below the bridge. The poop, which held cabins for the officers and passengers, formed the third island at the stern. Hatches between the islands led to the holds beneath the deck where the cargo was stored. Each hold was a separate area with a hatch cover over it. The derricks (lifting devices) that loaded and unloaded each hold rose alongside the hatches.

In time, the three-island ships gave way to freighters with one island, either in the middle of the ship or to­ward the stern. The island included the bridge and liv­ing quarters, with the engine room below. The one-island ship provided room for more and bigger hatches and so made it easier to load and unload cargo. During World War II (1939-1945), shipyards in the United States built more than 3,000 one-island ships—the famous Lib­erty and Victory ships. Both types of ships were about the same size, but the Victory ships, powered by steam turbines, were faster. The Liberty ships had reciprocat­ing steam engines. Both ships were built according to standard plans so they could be mass-produced. They carried millions of troops and millions of tons of sup­plies to battlefields in every part of the world.

Tankers were among the first ships designed to carry only one kind of cargo—petroleum. Earlier ships carried oil in barrels and then in large tanks. In 1878, Ludwig Nobel of Sweden launched a ship that was simply one great tank itself. Nobel was the brother of Alfred Nobel, founder of the famous Nobel Prizes. His tanker hauled oil from the Baku fields in southeastern Russia across the Caspian Sea.

In 1885, the first oceangoing tanker, the Gliickauf, was launched. This ship, built in Great Britain for a German oil company, carried petroleum from the United States to Europe. It became the model for all later tankers. Its hold space had eight big tanks, and its engine room was set in the stern to reduce the danger of fire. The vessel was 300 feet (91 meters) long and 37 feet (11 meters) wide. It carried 2,300 tons of oil and could travel 9 knots.

During the late 1950's, shipbuilders began to design vessels that could haul either ore or oil. These ships are called O/O carriers. During the 1960’s, another new type of carrier appeared—the O/B/O. An O/B/O ship can haul ore; light bulk cargo, such as grain or fertilizer; or oil. The largest O/O ship can haul about 250,000 tons of cargo. The largest O/B/O vessels can carry up to 150,000 tons.

1. What is the three-islands? What can say about the origin of the term?

2. What was the next stage of cargo ships’ development?

3. Were there any differences between Lib­erty and Victory ships?

4. How can modern tankers be connected with the Nobel Prize?

5. Do O/O carriers differ from the O/B/O ones only in size?

Ex. 13. Read and translate the 3d part of the text: