Evening star., 1945-06-17
Temporary Surplus of
Shipping Soon to
Disappear
Bv Karl K. Bauman

But the surplus is strictly temporary
Within few weeks, when redeploymen1
from Europe to the Pacific gets into full
ping space will become extremely tight
That is the forecast of the Wal
Shipping Administration (WSA) which
directs the largest merchant fleet the
world has ever known.
Reasons for the temporary surplus
are many. They all boil down, however
to about the same thing-that it's nj
easy job to shift emphasis from one wal
theater to another, especially when they
are thousands of miles apart.
Far more is involved than just load
ing all available ships with shooting
stuff" and men to use it.
Such things as 2O-ton bulldozers, giant
steamrollers, dock building equipment
food stocks, fuel supplies, service forces
must precede the fighting men and theiI
equipment
Not until ports have been built and
enlarged, and all the other preliminary
details disposed of, can the redeploy-
ment of vast quantities of equipment
and large numbers of fighting men
begin.
But even while waiting for the full
weight of the Pacific war demands to
be felt, VISA is keeping it's ships busy
Grain is being shipped to Europe, and
the import programs of western Europe
for nonmilitary supplies are being met
or exceeded.
While no one expects the Pacific sup
ply job to be an easy one, the joint
chiefs of staff, composed of the top
ranking officers of the Army and Navy
have said in effect that enough ship
ping will be available to get it done
The joint chiefs of staff, who tell
the Maritime Commission how many
ships and what kind they want built
for the War Shipping Administration
to operate, have not indicated that any
new construction will be needed beyond
the present program Construction
now is tapering off, and most outstand-
ing contracts will be completed by the
end of the year.
90,O00,0O0 Tons of Ships.
AS of May /, the War Shipping Ad-
ministration operated 43,5oO,OOO dead
weight tons of shipping. Fleets of
merchant ships also had been turned
over to the Army and Navy by the Mari
time Commission.
Exactly how much additional tonnage
will be available from other sources for
the war in the Pacific and to meet
Europe's relief and other needs is not
known here. Britain, second only to
this country in shipping, may chip in
with about 100000 deadweight tons.
Norway, The Netherlands, Greece,
France. Belgium, Poland, India and
Australia already have agreed to operate
their shipping in common pool.
A round figure guess" as one official
described it, places the world merchant
tonnage as of January l at $4,000 900,
but this now may exceed 9o,O00,000
The $4,000, ,00O-ton figure includes
100000 tons more or less" for the
japanese.
If, as seems probable, the world ton
mage now stands in the neighborhood
of 90,000,O00, the United States and Bri-
tain between them own approximately
65,000,000. This leaves 25O00000 tons
for all other countries, most of it avail
able for the pool.
IL Nations in Pool.
The United Maritime Authority, which
recently came into existence, has largely
replaced the Old Combined Shipping
Adjustment Board as the directing
agency for the pool.
Eleven maritime nations so far have
joined the authority. Other United Ma
tions and neutrals have been invited"
to join. The Swedes, with relatively
small but extremely modern fleet, have
indicated willingness to come in.
The agreement creating the author
ity pledges the participating govern
ments to provide shipping needed for
the war in the Pacific, as we'll as supply
the needs of the liberated areas and the
United Nations generally.
The agreement will remain in force
for six months after Japan's defeat.
In theory at least, Sweden could gain
an advantage by keeping its trim ships
out of the pool and putting them to
work on choice trade routes. These
routes, however, might not be so choice
as they look to the naked eye. Our
ports, for example, could be denied
foreign vessels on the ground they were
needed for war transportation.
Over With Grain, Back With Men.
In order to supply Europes needs and
at the same time speed the return of
American soldiers, approximately 100
victory ships will be converted into
combination troop transports and cargo
carriers.
En- route to Europe, these ships carry
full cargo of grain or other COM
modities. Once on the other side,
hunks come out of storage hold and are
fitted into place for the return trip with
troops.
To man the merchant fleet, the
Maritime Commission has trained 1885,
600 officers and men, has another q, 900
In training. Personnel of the merchant
marine now totals 235,000.
To meet its needs for additional sea-
men for the Pacific, the commission
hopes to recruit thousands within the
next few months from workers being
laid of by shipyards and other cut
back war work.
Distributed by Associated Press.