ALLIED SHIPPING

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25303, 13 August 1943, Page 5

ALLIED SHIPPING

SURPLUS NOW AVAILABLE (Rec. 9 p.m.) LONDON, Aug. 12. For the first time since the outbreak the Allies have a surplus of shipping capacity, says the Financial News. The position is, of course, purely temporary, and might be changed at any moment, either by new requirements or increased losses by enemy action. Nevertheless, ’ that a surplus has now appeared is highly encouraging because the development of Allied strategy has hitherto been held up more by a shortage of shipping space than by any other single factor. A New York message says the Maritime Commission and the War Shipping Administration have taken the first step towards the development of a permanent shipping programme by forming a post-war committee which will prepare plans for an American merchant marine adequate for commerce needs and defence.

The Washington correspondent of the New York Times says the committee’s approach to the shipping situation will admittedly be a purfely national . one, and the United States will end this war with a far larger fleet than at the end of the previous war. The question will arise whether the United States will engage in unrestricted competition by opposing a larger fleet, and superior financial resources and facilities for mass production, against Britain’s ability to operate .more cheaply, or seek an international agreement. In aviation an international understanding is being sought, but no such arrangement is being made in respect to shipping.