§ 15 and 16. Major GLYNasked the President of the Board of Trade (1) what proportion of the world's mercantile shipping tonnage was under construction in Great Britain in 1913; and what is the corresponding figure of tonnage under construction to-day;
(2) what was the total world mercantile shipping tonnage under construction at the end of 1930, and what proportion of this was British, German, French, Italian, and American, respectively; and how do these figures compare with those at the end of 1929?
§ Mr. W. GRAHAMWith the hon. and gallant Member's permission I will circulate the answer to these questions in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
Following is the answer:
The information asked for is contained in the following statement:
According to the quarterly shipbuilding returns published by Lloyd's Register of Shipping the tonnage of merchant vessels of 100 tons gross and upwards, under construction in the world at the end of 1913, was 3,331,143 tons gross, at the end of 1929, 3,110,880 tons gross and at the end of 1930, 2,326,086 tons gross.
Information as to the intended nationalities of the vessels under construction is not available, but the following table shows the proportion of the world total which was under construction in the countries specified at the end of 1913, 1929 and 1930: 184
The proportion under construction in Great Britain and Ireland alone was 58.7 per cent. at the end of 1913, and 39 per cent. at the end of 1930.
— 1913. 1929. 1930. British Countries … 59.9 50.9 39.6 Germany … 16.4 8.1 9.4 France … 6.9 5.4 7.5 Italy … 1.6 2.5 7.7 United States … 4.4 5.8 10.0