OLD BRITISH SHIPS

Southland Times, Issue 21072, 2 May 1930, Page 7

OLD BRITISH SHIPS

QUESTION OF DISPOSAL

SALE TO FOREIGNERS OPPOSED

NATIONAL POOL SUGGESTED

(United Press Assn.—Dy Telegraph—Copyright.)

(Rec. 7.5 p.m.) London, May 1. A new movement to prevent the sale of old British ships to foreign owners has been initiated by Bristol Channel shipowners and the shipbuilding industry throughout England.

Already a company has been formed to buy up and close down surplus shipyards, while the motor industry Is moving on similar lines to remove old cars from the street.

The Bristol Channel shipowners state that about 500,000 tons of shipping arc at present sold annually at a low figure, enabling foreigners to compete on advantageous terms against British shippers. It is computed that 40 per cent, of the ships carrying coal from Cardiff arc foreign, most of which were once under the British flag. Bristol shipping men suggest a national pool, in which all shipowners place obsolete ships for breaking up, the owners receiving from the pool the difference between the selling price and the proceeds of breaking up. Foreigners would thus be forced to buy new ships. The Chamber of Shipping of the United Kingdom states that the present sales are not abnormal. In 1913, 488,240 tons were sold abroad. It adds that the suggestion to restrict the sale of second-hand vessels raises the whole question of whether it Is desirable for the country to depart from the principle of an open market for both the freights and ships, oM and new.