The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1912-01-23
BUNKER
Coal Consumed Yearly BY the
World Reaches Hundreds
Of Millions Of Tons.

WASHINGTON, D. G., Jan. 23
The suggestion that the opening OF
the Panama canal may render FEAST
i:BIe the establishment Of a great
American station for supplying coal
from the mines of the United States
to vessels Of the world lends inter
est to an estimate prepared by the
Bureau Of statidtics, Department OF
Commerce and Labor, of the coal
consumption on the oceans of the
world, The statement estimates the
coal consumed on the oceans OF the
world at approximately seventy-fye
million tons, valued at over $50
million dollars.
An exact statement Of the
quantity Of. coal consumed by the
merchant marine and the navies Of
the world can not be made, owing
Ito the fact that comparatively few
countries state in separate terms
the quantity OF coal supplied TO YES
sells for their own use, or for
f1Bunkering" purposes The United
States Statistics show about nine
tmillion long TONS supplied to vessels
at ocean ports to be placed in their
bunkers for their own use, and the
British reports show about twenty
million long tons supplied TO vessels
in the foreign trade and two and
onethalf million tons to vessels in
the coastwise trade. This would
make for the two great coal pro-
ducing countries of the world-the
United States and the United King
dom-a total Of over thirty million
tons supplied directly to vessels for
"bunkering'' purposes. In addition
to this, however, a very consider
able percentage of the coal sent out
of Great Britain as export" passes
TO ports and stations in various
parts Of the world from which 1t is
finally supplied to ocean vessels for
fuel purposes. A paper presented
before the Royal Statistical Society
of England by D. "a, Thomas, NJ.
p, states that:
"The great bulk of our export
coal is for the use OF steamships,
and 1t is within the mark to say that
over half Of our exports are Tor
navigation, purposes. Cardtff,
alone ships over million tons an
nually to Port Said, over half mil
lion to Malta and Gibraltar, about
the same quantity to Cape Verde.
and the canaries, over 100000 to
Colombo, and large quantities to
Alden, practically the whole OF which
goes to bunker steam vessels calling
to coal at these depots."
AS the British exports Of coal,
aside from that recorded as supplied
to vessels for fueling purposes
amounted in 1910 to over sixty-two
million dong tons, the above quoted
estimate would seem to justify add
ing to the thirty million tons re-
corded as bunker coal by the United
Kingdom and the United States an
other thirty million as the share Of
British exports which finally be-
comes bunker coal through purchase
for bunkertng purposes at ports Or
stations to which it was originally
exported. While the Bureaus of
statistics is unable to state the
share of American coal exports
which become vessel supplies Casfde
from that actually reported as
bunker coal and not included in the
export stl4tement) it is quite prob
able that considerable percentage
Of the coal from the United States
which passes to the West Indian
Islands and the coast of Mexico is
used for vessels fueling. Add to
this the more than two million tons
supplied by the Japanese mines to
vessels engaged in the foreign trade,
the more than one million tons sup
piled from Australia, the nearly one
million tons supplied from India,
Iiplus the estimated consumption of
about three million tons by the
navies of the world, and the
Bureau Of Statistics estimate Of an an
average of seventy-Rve million tons
consumed on the oceans OF thesworld
seems a conservative one. AS the
valuation ofSthe coal exported for
steaming purposes averages ob on
$3.50 per ton, the further estimate
of the value Of the coal used on the
oceans OF the world-over $50 nil
lion dollars per annumeeuss also
a conservative one.
The United States is by far tne
largest coal producer Of the world
rs =, productiOn IN 1910 bens :.
a., = million metric tons a gainss
ga 10 million by the United King
q ENT "