MERCHANT FLEET

Evening Post, Volume CXXX, Issue 76, 26 September 1940, Page 6

MERCHANT FLEET

BRITAIN'S POSITION

WAR LOSSES MADE GOOD

TRADE ROUTES STILL 'OPEN ■;.;■■■ ■"-■■/.. ,-

{British-;pfflcial Wireless.) RUg^;f September 24. The Minister: -of Shippings Mr. Ronald Cross, reviewing the year's war effort, stated that British merchant vessels unceasingly sailed the obeans of the worldi "liable to attack throughput by submarine,: raider, mine^.. arid^ ;aircraft, and more re? cently by the E-hoat. One might well have supposed that our position would, be worse •than that of countries whose ships bolted to safety, but the fact is'that we have lost by enemy .action only about 8 per cent, of our pre-war merchant fleet. We have made up, anil more than made up, this arid every other loss. .Captures, new building, and transfers >fr6m-foreign-flags haye brought us reiriforceriients:; in excess of our losses. .'..■■■ ■ : "The overseas supply position and consequently the shipping position have taken' on a wholly different appearance: Timber, steels, and ferro alloys which .formerly came from Scandinavia.must,now be carried from frorth America. Iron ore formerly derived from; Sweden, Norway, and France is fetched today from more distant sources. Australian and New Zealand, dairy' produce takes the place of-Danish and Dutch supplies. Workshops of the 'tTnited States are turning but engineering products which in the past came from Belgium. "Moreover "the ships bearing'the products" of India and the Far East are no longer ordinarily routed through the Mediterranean and the longer voyage round the Cape means that a larger number of ships is required to bring the equivalent cargoes. The scale of our shipping needs, therefore, has been greatly augmented, but there is also the .fact that the fortunes of war have brought us augmented shipping resources on a commensurate scale. ■' ' s .•f1. ~'' ■'•• ~ ":-v. ..' '.'Germany, by inexcusable Assaults: on Pbland, Denmark,* Norway,- Holland, and Belgium, has put out of employment great of tonnage which formerly served the commercial,needs of tjipse peaceful lands. The greater part of > this tonnage npw carries cargoes : for "the Allied, cause, and' compensates" for the greater distances many supplies must now be carried." BRITAIN'S LIFELINE. Mr. Cross spoke of the fine" achieve- j ments of the merchant service, which he described as a lifeline^ of the British peoples in bringing: cargoes' from all! over the world. toißfitish' ports. Mr. Cross explained, 4hat whatever."plans the Government would i?e of no use unless|he mer.cljaritfleet wigr| able to carry;fip;ut its duties;■. .■'•.'": :

"It : 4s %'factf beyond: dispute that the whole ; y of: our war- 'effort, indeed, our verjf ; e2dstence, 'depends on the iships and the men who*work them," he said. "Consectueritly 'the vital question:is hbwiflrvshipping losses have.been replaced?' -:'

Lps'ses sustained by enemy action were published for the world to know, but as a result of new building and purchases, but mostly because of captures from the Germans and Italians, there was riiore shipping flying the British flag now than when the war started. In addition there were large numbers of neutral ships working for Britain.

This great fleet was bringing to England between 4,000,000 and 5,000,000 tons of imports a month (enough to meet essential needs), compared with a peacetime total of about 6,000,000 tons a month. Britain was beginning the second year of war in a good position to feed her people and supply her factories.