Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-03-11
Rivals Worry
kRed China
Shipping Gains

MANA. - Red China's new
hired merchant navy Is begin
ming TO worry shipping COM
panies not only in the Far East
but N New York. London and
elsewhere.
Peiping repeatedly now has
more than $50 foreign vessels
with q tonnage Of some Ia
million) plying the seas Of the
world. In addition to her own
craft. This Is more chartered
ships than the maritime ma
lions; Britain. go; Norway. IS;
Germany, %: Denmark, IA:
Sweden. 2: Greece, 8, and Fin
land. 9. have between them in
operation at present.
Most Of the ships Red China
has acquired are freighters-
some on a 4-to-7 month basis,
q few on IL months or voyage
charter.
Recently. too, Peiping has
been buying ships cheaply from
western nations such as Britain
and from Communist European
satellites,
Building h Booming
In mainland shipyards build
ing activity is booming. Mostly
these new China built ships are
small freighters and coasters,
but last November the huge
Talien Dairen) shipyard in
Manchuria launched Peiping's
biggest home-c o n S tructed
0cean-going cargoliner - the
Leap Forward"
It was built in q record So
days. This vessel is 1896
meters 1851 feet long and of
22,l00 tons displacement. Main
land reports give it a speed Of
1875 knots and say it is to be
automatically equipped" and
''has o strong hull of high ten
sion alloy steel designed to
break Ice"
This latter point has been
made much Of, since many Of
China's northern harbors are
tcebound in winter.
Estimates Of coasters I'D TO
1000 tons (such as are used in |
the Far East trade) now In Pei
pings merchant navy place the
number at some $50 vessels
with about 100000 tons total
displacement.
Red China with her booming
foreign trade has been lucky to
ind world shipping undergoing
Q serious depression. Because
OF this, the Communists have
been able to pick up ships both
for sale and charter at rock
bottom prices.
Builds Sea Power
Red China. long has indicated
1t has every intention Of be-
coming q major sea power.
Ever since the regime came to
power the mainland's important
harbors have been steadily
deepened and improved. For
eign shippers arriving in Hong
Kong comment very favorably
on the quick turn-around these
new facilities provide.
Again. the Chinese Reds have
for years been training mer-
camille deck and engineer on
GERS in their nautical academies
In Shanghai and Dairen.
From her I million tons of
junk shipping. and the 20 mil
lion boat people" who are
born. live and die aboard this
vast mosquito feet. Red China |
can obtain. with q minimum Of |
training. crews to competently |
man her future merchant navy. |
With the recent leap for
ward" in mainland steel pro-
duction to an annual II million
tons and a further contem-
plated increase this year to 10
million tons with emphasis on
rolled steel production, it can
be expected that mainland
shipyards will be busy launch
ing freighters as fast as they
can turn them out-quite pos
sibly also for foreign sale as
the industry grows. Such ships,
like all Red Chinese goods, are
cheap owing to the very low
cost Of labor and materials.
Far East shipping men be-
neye that before many years
are past Red China. rather
than Japan as at present, will
dominate the shipping situation
in the Orient. and present IN
dications certainly point in
that direction.