OCEAN SCIENCES AND NATIONAL SECURITY 135 



A. RECENT PROJECTS 



1 . Undersea pipelines 



Petroleum has become increasingh' vital to the economy of the 

 world dm-mg the past few years and expanded offshore drilling and 

 production have brought about a great demand for submarine pipe- 

 fines. In some instances, these are made up from individual sections 

 of pipe and laid in a continuous line from a slowly moving barge. 

 In other cases, they may be made up in long sections on shore and 

 successively pulled into place. At the present time, perhaps the 

 most daring project of all is now being projected for a crossmg of the 

 Mediterranean from North Africa to the coast of Eastern Spain for 

 the undersea transportation of natm-al gas and even gasoline. Ap- 

 parently the crossing ^vill be made by a bundle of 12 pipes, possibly 

 of plastic materials. 



That project undoubtedly is the forerunner of a network of pipelines across 

 narrow seas and straits all over the world. As one example, the Suez Canal 

 will cease to be a critical bottleneck to the free world if this technique is developed.*^ 



2. Undersea tunnels 



Formal proposals for the construction of a tunnel under the English 

 Channel date back some 85 3-ears, at which time construction actually 

 began. The engineering feasibility using more contemporary tech- 

 niques has now been well established and, overcoming the traditional 

 political objections of Great Britain, that country and France are now 

 negotiating with private industrial concerns for construction of a 

 tunnel from Dover to Calais, an underwater distance of about 20 

 miles. The terminals would be 44 miles apart and the tunnel 32 

 miles between portals. The projected tunnel would include an 

 electric railway with fiat cars to carry automobiles while passengers 

 ride in separate accommodations. Trains would cross in about 35 

 minutes and on this basis, 1800 cars could be shuttled every hour. 

 About 5 vears wiU be required for construction involving roughly 

 $250 million. 



Generally, the pressure of increasing traffic and financial success of toll road 

 operation should help revive the demand for underwater tunnels in places where 

 bridges are not practical.*^ 



3. Offshore mining. 



Although mining of coal by conventional processes of extraction 

 has been extended under the sea in manj- parts of the world, the 

 mining of solid materials from the ocean floor is just beginning. 



The Grand Isle Sulphur Mine in the Gulf of jMexico will soon operate from 

 a very large and elaborately equipped steel tower structure. Among other note- 

 worthy features, the plant Tvill use hot sea water in the process of melting and 

 handling sulphur. Also, the hot suplhur-bearing hquid is transported seven 

 miles to shore tlirough a heated pipehne.^" 



International agreement on ownership of sea-bed resources was 

 tentatively settled by the 1958 Convention on the Continental Shelf, 

 so that questions which have previously inhibited offshore explora- 

 tion may now be answered. 



8-' " Frontiers in Oceanic Research," op. cit., p. 69. 



8» "Channel Tunnel Plans," Manchester Guardian, Apr. 28, 1960. See also "Frontiers in Oceanic Re- 

 search." op. cit., p. 70. 



w "Frontiers in Oceanic Research," op cit., p. 70. Operation subsequently reported as started on June 

 18, 1960. 



