50 Years Ago

It was tankers that provided the headlines in the October 1961 issue of The Motor Ship. A glimpse of the future came from the fact that three separate contracts had been placed,…

In the 1960s and before, The Motor Ship had a sizeable staff, and with large numbers of ships built in Britain, and others visiting UK ports, it was not difficult to view…

It is now such a common sight to see Wärtsilä low speed engines, as we now refer to the Sulzer-designed units, sporting ABB (and Napier) turbochargers that it is easily forgotten that…

The June 1961 issue of The Motor Ship was full of news of large-bore low-speed marine engines, which seemed to be causing an even bigger stir than dual-fuel (oil and LNG) engines…

The May 1961 issue of The Motor Ship, on its comment page, questioned whether, with the growing popularity of the Diesel engine, the world’s oil reserves would be sufficient to meet demand.

In these times when we look at alternative fuel sources it is chastening to observe that much the same fears were being voiced 50 years back.

In its February 1961 issue, The Motor Ship was given over mostly to talk of large-bore, powerful engines.

As ‘The Motorship’ enters the decade leading up to its 100th anniversary, something that few other technical maritime publications can emulate, our first 90 years have given us plenty of food for…

There was a touch of ‘I told you so’ about the December 1960 issue of The Motor Ship.

The lead item in The Motor Ship, January 1961, was a message from UK Minister for Science Viscount Hailsham.

How things change. The December 1960 issue of ‘The Motor Ship’ responded to a UK government proposal that the country’s diverse shipbuilding industry be reorganised into larger groups by suggesting that too…

One item in the October 1960 issue of The Motor Ship which caught our eye was a report of a pair of small container ships for US coastal service.

Looking at the September 1960 issue of The Motor Ship, a casual reader could be forgiven for coming to the conclusion that the transport of bananas gave rise to advanced propulsion concepts.

Looking at the September 1960 issue of The Motor Ship, a casual reader could be forgiven for coming to the conclusion that the transport of bananas gave rise to advanced propulsion concepts.

Most of the July 1960 issue of The Motor Ship was taken up by tables of ships on order arranged by country, which showed Great Britain still held a leading position, closely…

Most of the July 1960 issue of The Motor Ship was taken up by tables of ships on order arranged by country, which showed Great Britain still held a leading position, closely…

The second issue of The Motor Ship (May 1920) continued, not surprisingly, to wax lyrical about the benefits of Diesel-powered ships over their steam sisters.

In March 1960, The Motor Ship was looking at the world, and the British, tanker fleets.

The February 1960 issue of The Motor Ship was something of a tugs special issue, with three articles devoted to these small workhorses.