MERCANTILE MARINE

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 86, 10 April 1924, Page 9

MERCANTILE MARINE

CHAMBER OF SHIPPING : REPORT

COMPARISON WITH PRE-WAR J FIGURES

TRADING AT A LOSS. '

(FSOM OUR OWN CORRESrONDENT.) LONDON, 21st February

■ According to the annual report of the i Chamber, of Shipping of the United Kingdom, the year 1923 lias still seen shipping in the trough of one of the worst depressions through wliich it has'passed. In the early months of the year the occupation of the Ruhr led to an increase in purchases by Germany and other . countries of overseas coal, and caused a temporary spurt in the demand . for shipping and a consequent improvement in freights, but they subsequently fell with a. slight seasonal improvement in the late autumn. , The world is doing much'less trade ■ thai) before the war, but there exists much more 'tonnage always ready to put to sea when freights have shown signs of rising, thus preventing any effective . recovery of the market. Although passenger ships have fared somewhat better than general cargo carriers, inteerna- ' .tional 'ocean-borne trade, as a whole, has been transported not only without profit to the 'ship-owner, but at a heavy loss. ; GREAT INCREASE IN TONNAGE. In June, 1914, 18,877,000 tons (gross register) of shipping were under the ■British, flag, and, in spite of the heavy losses sustained during the ( war, ) the amount of shipping is to-day'larger than it was then by 200,000 tons,'while in . the British Dominions' the increase has been as much as 812,000 tons. Of. the ,'■' expansion of merchant shipping of all nations which has occurred ■ since the early summer of 1914,'amounting-in the : "aggregate to nearly 15,500,000 tons, shipowners in the British Empire have been responsible for only just over 1,000,000 tons; the principal contribution to the existing surplus has been made by the "";" United, States| with- 10,500,000 tons, ~ while' Japan has added 1,760,000s tons to ' her fleet; Italy, 1,360,000 tons; France, ''' . 1,347,000 tons, Holland; 1,135,000 tons;. and the Scandinavian countries^-Nor-way, Sweden, and Denmark—62B,ooo tons. • ' •;. - . ■•".:. According to the most conservative estimate upwards of 6,000,000 tons of v shipping under foreign flags is unem-'j /" pjoyed, of which at least two-thirds is ■ American, whereas only 750,000 tons is • British, notwithstanding that British shipping, is not artificially assisted- by subsidies or sheltered 'by flag discrimina- . tioij'-'from unrestricted world competition, The British producer and con- ./" sumer gets the lowest rates ruling at the moment iri the international freight market; but, neverthless, a larger pro- : portion of British tonnage is actively employed to-day than is the case with world tonnage in-general. The proportion 'of obsolescent—and: i: therefore'less ■' efficient—British tonnage is.no greater than it was before the war. v Of the 19,000,000 tons under the British . flag, only -aboufc 3;670,000 tons are -twenty or more years old; a further 2,----600,000 tons^ fall within the age limit of 15-20 years; while 9,500,000 tons have been .built /.in" the past ten years. •Approximately.- half the;, vessels of the British Mercantile Marine are, therefore; less than ten years . old, a, proportion which does not compare > unfavourably with the figures for the whole world. ■ .MOTOR SHIPS. From the technical .point of view, the most notable development has, been tihe accelerated construction oE motor ships. Of the motor ships now afloat, aggregating 1,321,131 tons, 374,873 tonsf were re- . . qorded in' June last'as being under'the British flag; while at the end, of 1923 ' 55 vessels, in which internal combustion engines are to be installed, were under in the shipbuilding yards of the United Kingdom, having a tonnace of 323,641 tons. That is a larger amount - of shipping of this type than is being built in all the other shipyards of the , world; 96-motor shiprs of a total tonnage of only 310,386 tons were under construction abroad on 31st December. ' CONTINENTAL COMPETITION.,, Those responsible-.for British ship- • ping are still at a i great disadvantage in comparison with their European competitors in the. sea-carrying trade, who' now have no less than 20,000,000 tons at their disposal.1- The depreciated currencies on the Continent are proving a serious disadvantage to British shipping. The disparity in internal/money values which govern wages is illustrated.-by the sums^paid to German seamen, which are only about one-third those received /by British seamen. In some other countries the wages amount to about two ; thirds of that paid in the British Mercantile Marine, and in' nearly all cases there is some advantage to the foreigner. . . • ■. •. , Although the shipping outlook is overcast, there are welcome signs of a slight improvement in trade. In 1923 the value of inward and outward ,cargoes of the United Kingdom showed an increase of ■ nearly 18 per cent, as compared with the previous ,year. .... MARITIME PORTS CONVENTION. The report recalls, the fact that at the conference of all parties to tho .League ot JSations last November a Maritime Ports Convention was ■ unanimously adopted, clearly declaring' for a continued policy of free, ports in the interests ot international commerce. This Con-! vention- and the Convention on- Inter- • national Railway Communication \together make it clear that a policy of free ?° rtf, 1!,. t? embrace not only tire use' of the facilities of the ports and equality of dues and charges, but also quality of dues and charges in railway facilities in . the access to the ports, and reprobates indirect discrimination as well as direct Thus, Custom duties and facilities are -•to be equal, and in matters of emigration ■ it is made clear, that in the application of system of licensing emigrant ships the principal of the Convention are to be applied. DOUBLE TAXATION. ' A Committee of Economists' appointed by the League of Nations have done valuable work'in examining the principles underlying Double Taxation! and its report has reflected clearly its view that the principle of residence is to be preferred on economic grounds to that of T^'ffi rou Sh recognising the practical difficulties to be encountered, it has suggested, the. adoption of . a principle which it calls "economic allegiance "It suggests certain tests to ascertain' tfcfe economic allegiance. These tests -t is suggested; should be applied' to every class of profits and by international ■ agreement the tax should be levied by ."'. the country to which the answers to the / tests, preponderating^ 'point. Sometimes they would be consistent, with taxation ; . according to residence, sometimes ac- •■-.. cording,to origin. . ' ■■ With regard to taxation within the Empire; the report refers to the fact that the subject was considered by the Eco•nomic Conference. It is hoped tliafful- , ler consideration of the subject will lrad

all the constituents of the Empire ultimately to adopt the principal of taxation according to residence, so that there may be complete international agreement to avoid double taxation of shipping ai.d ,its burdens, both direcet and indirect, which are necessarily .borne by the trading and general community.