THE SUBMARINE WAR.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16362, 6 November 1918, Page 8

THE SUBMARINE WAR.

SUCCESS OF THE CONVOY SYSTEM. (By Cable.—Press Association.—Copyright.) (Australian and N.Z. Cable Association.) • LONDON, JNovewoer 4. 'Up to October 26th the Admiralty convoyed 75,722 merchantmen, of whica 433 were lost, or .51 per cent. The Atlantic convoys from June 26th. 1917, to May 10th, 1918, comprised 14,968 ships, of a gross tonnage or 77,057,231 tons, of which 118 were lost, whose tonnage aggregated 654,288 toils. To carry the 1918 Argentine wheat crop 307 ships of a tonnage of 1,466,000 tons were convoyed, of which only one was lost. Altogether 26,000,000 tons of food and 35j000,000 tons of munitions were convoyed to the United Kingdom. Whereas prior to the convoy system we lost 10 per cent, of ships tEe present rate of loss is approximately 1 per cent. The relative risk of loss to and from the United Kingdom for the first three-quarters of 1918 shows a most satisfactory reduction. The total traffic for that period increased by onethird, while the risk of loss decreasedby one-half. The success of the convoy system was largely duo to the way in which mercantile shipmasters co-operated. Their skill in keeping their stations in bad weather and under attack was splendid.