Affiliation:
1. Lloyd's Register of Shipping, London.
Abstract
The author first presents an analysis of the world merchant fleet, some 11 000 ships, classified with Lloyd's Register of Shipping on 31st December 1962, with respect to such variables as type of prime mover, horsepower range, number of screws, engine location, and type of transmission. This is compared with a similar analysis of the classed fleet as it was on 31st December 1957; the comparison reveals some interesting trends. The principal categories of transmission system are then broadly discussed with brief historical notes and illustrative examples from modern practice. The lecture concludes with some general remarks on systems of automatic and remote control of marine propulsion machinery with illustrated descriptions of several recent examples.