New-York tribune., 1922-12-18
aipping abroad Leads the Way
Il First ReriUaI in TiOO Years
1y..seIs Rapidly Going Into Operation; Dubious
o,.,Iook for Subsidy in us. Aids Foreign Stocks;
Improvement Not Yet Reflected in Freight Rates
BY David s. Kennedy

II Is reported from Copenhaeen that
the whole Of tho Danish merchant
neet Is new IN service, as compared
With 100 idle uhips a year ago. This
fact, taken into consideration With
other circumstaneea, As regarded there
as sign that the bottom OF the de-
preston has been reached and that an
upturn 10 about TO take place.
Germany in Good Position
Recent fiFures are not available for
Germany ana the scandinavian csun-
tries, but general statements point 10
same conditions. Germany partieulat-
ly, With low exehenRo rates 70 pay her
crews and collecting freights in for
eian currency, is In an unusually
favorable position. Evidence Of this
IS shown By the fact that IN the last
two years Germany has recovered prze-
tically one-third Of her prs-wHr mer-
chant marine, despite the surrender OF
Ter ships to the Allies under the
Treaty Of Versailles. In the last
twelve months Hamburg has passed
both Rotterdam and Antwerp AZ the
| leading port Of Continental Europe.
German shipbuIld,ng is held up tenn
porarily by a shortage In capital.
The general attitude toward the
American merchant marine 10 sx-
pressed IN a dispatch 70 "The Liver
pool Journal OF Commerce" from its
London correspondent. He said,
"Ths fact that the United States
merchant marine is practically out OF
the running, the dihieulty in France
and the sudden slowing down Of the
4 rebuilding Of the German mercantile
marine are bull points for shipping
shares belonging 10 British eompanies'
u am not concerned with the ultimate
fate Of tho United States surplus ship-
ping, but there is always room on the
scrap heap for junk"
shIpbuIIdinE Picks Up
Within the last few months also
there has been q remarkable change
for the better IN British shipyards'
Shipbuilding employees, sitter strug-
Cling yainly 20 prevent reduction IN
war wages, at last yielded. Beginning
on January shlpyard expenses Will
be down 10 a point where efectivs COM
petition with German and Danish COM
panies will be possible. Steamship
owners also. realizing that the bottom
now has been reached, are beginning
10 place orders TO replace obsolete
vessels or tonnage lost during the war.
The great shipbuilding plant Of Hsr-
land a Wolf at Belfast Is working on
full time now. Recent reports from
the Tyne and the Clyde are much more
optimistic. Orders have been placed
recently by Alfred Holt a Co., Elders
4 Fyffes. the Orient Line. the Union
Steamship Company and others. The
Peninsulsr and Oriental Line is pre-
/ pared TO award contracts shortly.
1 : An outstanding feature Of shipbuild.
ling sbread Is the large proportion OF
4 cor tracts for Diesel ships. the most
economical form Of marine propulsion,
which arc rapidly overhaulinE steam
ers. II 10 apparent that within the
next few years much Of older British
tonnage viii bo replaced By new, IN
itsfna1 combustion. engines. with which
4 the vessels owned by the Shipping
Board will hnd II even more difneult
] The better prospect for shipping
abroad, which has cut down the tied
up heets, has not yet affected freight
rates when the entire surplus Of
tonnage has been employed an advance
In charges 10 10 be expected.