THE MERCHANT NAVY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23284, 1 March 1939, Page 10

THE MERCHANT NAVY

Once again attention has been drawn to the decline in strength of Britain's mercantile marine. In a speech at Galashiels, Lord Craigmyle, chairman of the P. and O. Line, has stated that Great Britain is short by 2000 ships of useful types essential to carry food and munitions in an emergency, and he has raised the question whether there is sufficient tonnage on Dominion registers to assist in making up the leeway. As far as the British position is concerned, Lord Craigmyle's statement is one of unhappy fact. In 1914 Great Britain possessed 41.6 per cent of the world's tonnage, and in 1938, 26.4 per cent. Even those figures do not tell the whole story. British ships have actually diminished by about 2000 vessels of 1,500,000 tons gross. As tanker tonnage haa increased during the same period from 500,000 to 2,500,000 tons, the assumption can be fairly drawn that Britain is weaker in ships to carry foodstuffs and materials to the extent of 3,500,000 tons. These facts are sufficiently disturbing, but the personnel of the Merchant Navy, excluding natives, has fallen since 1914 by 20 per cent, the crews of fishing vessels—a valuable reserve of naval manpower—have also shown a marked decline. There is every reason, then, for seeing that voluntary reserve organisations are maintained at full strength in all parts of the Empire and that the amateur sailors who, in the main, constitute their membership, are given adequate training in preparation for possible emergency. The latest figures show that on Dominion and colonial registers there are 2476 vessels of 100 tons and upward, aggregating 3,166,961 tons, but in time of war many of these ships would be required for essential services in their own waters. During the last war, however, even coastal vessels and inter-island ferry steamers from New Zealand were made available for service, and there can I>e no doubt that, if the need again arose, the same wholehearted response would be made..