HE total gross tonnage afloat at the end of June! 1938 was 66,879,000 tons as compared to 45,403,877 tons in 1914 and 24,009,000 fons in 1901, according to the annual report of Lloyd's Registry of Shipping for the year ending June 1938.
Recent discussions in Parliament and elsewhere, states the Yeport, have drawn attention to the present distribution of the merchant fleets of the world, and to the relative position and de-line in the numerical superiority of the British Merchantile Marine.
From June 1914 to June 1938, the net increase in the world's steam and motor tonnage was 21,466,274 tons, equal to 47.3 per cent. of such tonnage in existence in 1914, and the net addition in the number of, vessels was 4,965.
Since 1914, there has been a net decrease in the steam and motor tonnage belonging to Great Britain and Ireland of 1,216,685 tons, or 64 per cent. of the tonnage owned in 1914, "whilst the. number of ships has decreased: by 1,744 during the same period. In the British Dominions and Colonies, there has been an increase of 1,412009 tons (865 per cent and 682 vessels since 1914; so that the totals for the British Empire at June 1938, compared with June 1914 show an increase of 195,384 tons Gess than 10 per cent), but a decrease of 1,062 vessels.
Further comparison of the figures of other countries for 1914 and 1938 shows that the largest increases took place in the United States (6,909,557 tons), Japan. (3,298,326 tons), Norway (2,658,822 tons), Italy (1,828,517 tons), Holland (1,380,302 tons), Greece (1,- 068,408 tons), and France (958,497 tons). The only other decrease during this period, other than Great Britain and Ireland, was that in the case of Germany, where, although the number of vessels has increased by 231, the present total tonnage is stil! 903,063 tons below that for June 1914.
The present century has witnessed unprecedented development in the mercantile. fleets of the world, the steam and motor tonnage having increased from 24,009,000 in. 1901 {0 66,870,000 tons in 1938, In the case of Great Britain and Ireland the figures have risen from 12,053,000 tons to 17,675,000 tons.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.