Type Four: Cargo steamers without any passenger accommodation.
The difference between the floating palaces of type No. 1 in 1913 and those vessels which the Hamburg-Amerika Linie possessed when Ballin first entered upon his career as a shipping man was like that between day and night. A brief comparison of a few details will be the best means of illustrating the enormous progress achieved within less than the lifetime of a generation. The size of the vessels had increased from 3,000 to more than 50,000 tons; the speed from 14 to nearly 25 knots; the height of the decks from 6½ to 8 feet in the lower decks, whilst that of the upper ones, as far as the social rooms were concerned, amounted to as much as 20 feet. Large portions of the upper decks were reserved for the social rooms, the finest of which—the ball-room—could challenge comparison with almost any similar room in any hotel ashore with respect to its size and to the magnificence of its furnishings and of its decoration. From a technical point of view, too, the construction of such a huge room on board a vessel, which possessed a floor space of 4,800 square feet, and a ceiling unsupported by any columns or pillars of any kind, was an unprecedented achievement. Besides, there were immense dining-rooms for each class, smoking-rooms, ladies’ saloons, a restaurant, a winter garden, a swimming pool, and numerous smaller rooms suitable for the relaxation and amusement of the passengers.
On the older boats the arrangement was that the small cabins were all grouped round the one and only social room on board, so that the occupants of the cabins could hear all that was going on in the social room, and vice versa. The superficial area at the disposal of each passenger was gradually increased from 43 square feet in the double cabins to 172 square feet in the cabins of the Imperator, so that the latter were really no longer mere cabins, but actual rooms. The suites-de-luxe comprised up to twelve rooms, the largest of which covered an area of 247 square feet.
It must not be thought, however, that the first-class passengers were the only ones for whose comfort the company catered. The other classes progressed proportionately in added comfort, space, and social facilities, not excepting the steerage.
But by far the greatest improvements made were those in connexion with the enormous progress of the purely technical side of shipbuilding during the whole period under review. The more the vessels increased in size, the less were they liable to the pitching and rolling motion caused when the weather was rough. Moreover, special appliances, such as bilge keels and bilge tanks, were employed to lessen these movements still more, even when the sea was high. The reciprocating engines gradually gave place to higher types, and later on turbines and oil-engines were also introduced. In addition to the propelling machinery a number of auxiliary engines were used which were of various kinds and for various purposes, such as the ventilation of the cabins and the other rooms, the generation of light, the services in connexion with the personal welfare of the passengers and with their safety whilst on board ship. Instead of single bottoms, double bottoms were used, and the additional safety resulting therefrom was still further enhanced by dividing the space between the two by means of a whole network of partitions. The vessels of the “Imperator” class, indeed, possessed practically a double shell, which formed an effective protection against the danger of collision. The lifeboats increased in size and in number, and their shape and equipment were improved. Emergency lighting stations were arranged which could generate a sufficient amount of electric current if the ordinary supply should break down at any time. The whole vessels were divided into self-contained compartments by water-tight bulkheads, the doors of which could be automatically closed. This division into many compartments proved an effective protection against the risk of fire; but a number of special devices were also adopted to serve the same purpose, e.g. an extensive system of steampipes by which each single room could be rapidly filled with steam, so that the fire could be automatically extinguished. Fire-proof material was used for the walls separating adjacent rooms and cabins, and, not content with all this, the company provided its mammoth liners with an actual fire brigade, the members of which were fully trained for their work. The most important improvements affecting the navigation of the steamers were the introduction of wireless telegraphy apparatus, the gyroscopic compasses, the system of submarine direction indicator signalling, and the substitution of two steering gears instead of one, not to mention a series of minor improvements of all kinds.
The provisioning on board the German steamers was of proverbial excellence, the kitchen arrangements were modelled after those found in the big hotels, and were supplied with all manner of supplementary devices. The huge store rooms were divided into sections for those provisions that were of a perishable nature and for those that were not; and for the former refrigerating rooms were also provided in which the temperature could be regulated according to the nature of the articles.
Perhaps the most interesting development of the various types of steamers is that which type No. 2 has undergone. It originated in Great Britain, whence it was taken over in 1894. The first unit of this type added to the fleet of the Packetfahrt was the Persia, of 5,800 G.R.T., and a speed of 12 knots, built to accommodate a number of cabin and steerage passengers, and to carry a considerable amount of cargo as well. These boats possessed many advantages over similar ones, advantages which were due to their size, their shape, and the loading facilities with which they were equipped. Ballin immediately recognized the good points of this type, and he improved it until the vessels reached a size of 13,000 G.R.T., which still enabled them to travel at a speed of 13 knots. They were twin-screw steamers, and were provided with every safety device known at the time. A still further improvement of this type was represented by the Amerika and the Kaiserin Auguste Victoria, built in 1905 and 1906 respectively, luxuriously equipped throughout; by their large size—they possessed a capacity of very nearly 25,000 G.R.T.—extremely seaworthy, and as they could travel at the rate of 17½ knots, their speed was scarcely inferior to that possessed by the older type of fast steamers. From the point of view of actual remunerativeness they were far superior to the fast steamers, combining, as they did, all the earning possibilities of the passenger and of the cargo vessels.
The development of the types comprising the cargo steamers went hand in hand with the expansion of international trade relations, and with the constant increase in the amount of goods exchanged between the nations. To a certain extent development was limited by the dimensions of the Suez Canal. Still, improvements became possible in this respect too when the depth of the Canal was increased to 27 feet in 1908, 29 feet in 1912, and 30 feet in 1914.
Ballin carefully watched this development, incessantly improving the existing types of his company’s cargo boats, so that they should always meet the growing needs of sea-borne trade, and in some instances even anticipating them, until, when the war broke out, twin screw cargo boats of a capacity of 16,000 tons and possessing a speed of 13 knots were being built for the company.
In a brief outline such as this, it is not possible to enter into details concerning the expansion of the other lines which became affiliated to or otherwise associated with the Packetfahrt in course of time. One special type, however, ought to receive a somewhat more detailed treatment in this connexion, viz., that of the excursion steamers. The running of pleasure cruises, originally nothing but a mere expedient to prevent the express steamers from lying idle during the dead season, gradually became an end in itself. The Northern and Mediterranean cruises were soon followed by others, e.g. those to the West Indies and the pleasure trips round the globe. Two special steamers, the Prinzessin Victoria Luise, and the somewhat smaller and less sumptuous Meteor, both of them equipped after the style of pleasure yachts, were built when it was found advisable to make this service independent of the fast steamers and the big passenger boats which had also been employed for this purpose. After the loss of the Prinzessin Victoria Luise she was replaced first by a British passenger boat that had been purchased, and then by the Deutschland, specially reconditioned for her new purpose, and renamed Victoria Luise. Both vessels were extremely popular with the international travelling public, and year after year they carried thousands of tourists to countries and places distinguished for the beauty of their natural scenery or for their historical and artistic associations. They were largely instrumental in constantly augmenting the number of those who formed the regular clientèle of the company.