NEW SHIPS FOR BRITAIN

Southland Times, Issue 24353, 6 February 1941, Page 7

NEW SHIPS FOR BRITAIN

VALUABLE AID FROM DOMINIONS GROWTH OF INDUSTRY IN AUSTRALIA (British Official Wireless) (Received February 5, 5.30 p.m.) RUGBY, February 5. Commenting on Britain’s mercantile shipping position, Mr Ronald Cross, Minister of Shipping, said it was not only in the shipyards of the United Kingdom that new construction was going forward. Empire shipbuilding yards, by providing new tonnage, were helping Britain to defeat the U-boat menace. Canada, which before the war had about 1,250,000 tons on the shipping register, had launched vessels from yards at Vancouver, Montreal and Halifax. There were a large number of merchant ships now on tne stocks, and it was announced recently that Canada was to build 18 large merchant vessels for the British Government. There were some 40 shipbuilding and repairing establishments in the Dominion, and, even before the war, about 4000 permanent workers were employed. In 1938, repair work was done to the value of over £3,000,000. “Although South Africa has not a ship-building industry on a large scale, repairs can be carried out at Durban, where there are well-equipped repair yards and a dry dock,” Mr Cross continued. “Australia built only a small number of vessels before the war, but has since greatly enlarged her shipbuilding capacity. A yard is to be established at Whyalla, South Australia, to build merchant ships up to 12,000 tons, and Mr W. M. Hughes, Minister of the Navy, has declared that shipbuilding must become one of the great national industries of Australia. Orders amounting to £200,000 for engines and machinery have been placed in Queensland. TRANSPORT OF TROOPS Speaking of the strain on British shipping, Mr Cross said: “I would like to tell you of the extraordinary variety of troop movements which have been carried out by the merchant navy. We carried Canadian troops from Canada to this country, to Iceland and the West Indies; Newfoundland troops to this country for the Army and the Navy, and for log cutting; Australians and New Zealanders to the Middle East and to Britain; South Africans to East Africa and Egypt; Indians tc East Africa, Egypt and Britain. In addition, we moved. Gold Coast, Nigerian, Palestine and Cypriot troops. We carried troops from this country to such a variety of places that I will not detail them to you, for they cover the world—from Bermuda to Singapore, from Iceland to Hong Kong.” ' According to a message from Washington, Mr Cordell Hull, Secretary of State, said the Government was still undecided what to do about idle foreign ships in American ports, but intensive study might produce a solution at any time. He added that he had no information about reports that Danish groups were considering with the British, methods whereby 38 Danish ships might be made available to Britain, by purchase or otherwise.