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Show UK STEAMERS RELEASED B ..' SHIPPING BOARD NEW YORK", Dec. 21. Plana for the pi'oinpt Release from govcrnrndnt requisition re-quisition of a part of a fleet of 174 tank steamships, eighteen of them Pacific Pa-cific coast vessels with an approxl- mate aggregate tonnage of 1,400,000 i deadweight tons, were announced here i today by the United States shipping board. Only those required for supplying sup-plying the army and navy in the United Unit-ed States with fuel oil, it was stated, will bo retained by the government. W. B. A. Walker, tank steamer executive ex-ecutive .of the shipping control committee, com-mittee, in making the announcement, said: "The shipping board further announces an-nounces that as to these tank steamships steam-ships which are now engaged in the users' own previous service, free from accounting, it will bo the policy to have the release effective without de-l de-l lay. ) "As to all other tankers to be rc leased, the-release will be effective (upon the return and discharge, if, with j cargo at a United States port as soon as practicable after the Tull settlement I of commitments already made or which may be found necessary to make and where commitments or other oth-er reasons may necessitate special treatment. "This announcement is to be taken merely as a statement of policy and the details as to tho release of each i tanker will be promptly taken up by the board with each" tank steamer owner." The 174 tank steamships were requisitioned re-quisitioned by the government in October, Oc-tober, 1917, with other American ships and were used for various purposes, but chiefly for supplying naval vessels ves-sels and army transports with fuel oil from Mexico. It was further announced that Mr. Walker, Henry H. Little, admiralty counsel, and Frank S. Martin, chair man of the board of supervisnig en gineers of the shipping board had been named a committee to take the 'required steps to release tho ships. oo |