One U.S. shipbuilding company has followed 
the lead of Japan by successfully marketing its 
own standardized design for a medium-sized 
tanker. As of mid-1968, this company had ob- 
tained nine contracts for nearly identical vessels. 
The design-marketing practice has been adopted 
by at least one other major shipyard. 
Other ways to minimize costs in sea transporta- 
tion are to build larger ships and utilize nuclear 
power. The total energy required to carry a ton of 
cargo at a given speed decreases as a vessel’s cargo 
capacity increases, reducing cost per ton-mile. 
Although huge tankers and bulk carriers of more 
than 100,000 deadweight tons are more efficient 
on the high seas, many harbors around the world 
are incapable of accommodating such immense 
vessels. In fact, programs to deepen ports now are 
encountering serious physical obstacles, such as 
bedrock or highway and railroad tunnels that limit 
dredging depth. Where a harbor cannot be adapted 
to handle superships, it may be necessary to build 
remote terminals offshore or relocate harbor com- 
plexes. 
Nuclear power is another potential way to 
increase operational efficiency at sea, especially 
for long-distance, high-speed travel. One big advan- 
tage of nuclear power is that ships can operate 
much longer without refueling. Thus, during nor- 
mal conditions nuclear ships benefit in time 
savings from less frequent stops, and under war- 
time pressures they need less logistic support for 
continued operations. 
In addition, nuclear vessels require much less 
space for the combination of fuel and power plant 
and thus have a greater percentage of their 
displacement available for cargo. Some nations are 
not yet willing to receive nuclear vessels in their 
ports for fear of radiation, but it is believed that 
this will be only a temporary deterrent to the 
progress of nuclear merchant shipping. 
Construction of nuclear-powered passenger and 
cargo ships can be accomplished readily by U.S. 
shipyards. The industry has considerable expertise 
from building nuclear submarines, cruisers, guided 
missile frigates, and aircraft carriers for the Navy, 
not to mention the first nuclear-powered merchant 
ship, the N.S. Savannah. 
At present, the most heartening recent develop- 
ment in the shipping industry is containerization. 
Two non-subsidized U.S. companies have set the 
pace in this area and have been able to compete 
V-46 
successfully in international shipping. The concept 
involves technology no more complicated than 
computerized inventory and traffic control. Its 
most outstanding feature is simplicity. Prior to 
containerization, a typical overseas cargo shipment 
was handled at least eight times before secured 
aboard ship. Containerization has resulted in much 
less handling, which in turn has led to lower 
handling costs and less pilferage. 
Containerization also enables a new systems 
approach to global transportation. Truck and 
railroad flatcar scheduling can be coordinated with 
scheduling for containerized ships, thus allowing 
large containers to be quickly unloaded and 
transferred. By minimizing the time a ship spends 
in port, containerization results in great savings to 
the operator and permits ports to handle more 
ships and a much greater volume of cargo. 
The impact of containerization can be seen in 
the fact that 12 per cent of all 1968 foreign 
commerce handled at New York’s piers is contain- 
erized, compared to 3 per cent only two years ago. 
Furthermore, the Port of New York Authority 
estimates that by 1975 half of all cargo brought 
into New York Harbor will be handled via contain- 
ers. In view of this projected boom in contain- 
erized shipping, port facilities will have to be 
updated. 
Vill. INSTRUMENTS 
A. Present Status 
The operation, as well as the monitoring of the 
operation, of oceanographic platforms, test ranges, 
equipment, and data systems (in fact, all aspects of 
marine science and technology) depends on the 
availability of diverse types of instrumentation 
with adequate cost-performance and reliability 
characteristics. Most important, much of the Na- 
tional investment in ocean programs now and in 
the foreseeable future will be devoted to meas- 
uring the characteristics of the marine environ- 
ment. Reliable, accurate instruments that can be 
maintained in proper calibration are a vital factor 
in the ultimate usefulness of data obtained from 
ocean survey programs. 
Recognition of the importance of reliable ocean 
data resulted in the establishment of the National 
Oceanographic Data Center (NODC). The data are 
available to the academic, industrial, and govern- 
