SHANGHAI
A163:
so-called Soviet forces in Kingsi and the serious state of affairs in far distant Szechwan, two more provinces in the port's trade drainage-area; or to the encouraging effect of the restoration of normal conditions in North China and the more stable political onditions ruling generally throughout the country; or even to the critical currency situation which developed in seriousness as the year progressed, gradually depleting the silver reserves of the local banking institutions. The shipping statistics show a slight increase in the tonnage and a slight falling-off in the number of vessels trading at the port. Entering tonnage alone, including that of vessels plying under Inland waters Steam Navigation Regulations, amounted to 19.9 million tons, which total, according to tables published in the Rotterdam "Statistics of Trade, Industry, and Traffic," gives Shanghai to rank (the figures quoted in the publications in question are exclusive of Shanghai's 2 million tons of so-called inland waters tonnage, most of which actually consists of ocean-going steamers plying on the coast) as the fourth greatest shipping port in the world to-day. Entrances and clearances under General Regulations together numbered 17,797 vessels as compared with 18,115 in the previous year, and the combined tonnage for entrances and clearances under these regulations was 35.5 million as against 35.2 million tons. Vessels entering and clearing under Inland Waters Regulations numbered 27,858 and aggregated 4.4 million tons. These statistics do not include the 73,498 junks entered and cleared at the Nantao sub-office. The combined figures for entrances and clearances of the domestic and foreign traffic under General Regulations show that British-flag vessels led the Shanghai shipping list with 12.4 million tons, and that the Chinese-flag took second place with 7.6 million tons, followed by Japanese-flag vessels with 5.8 million tons. Chinese-flag vessels took the lead in the domestic trade under General Regulations with a tonnage of 7.4 million, British-flag vessels following very closely with an aggregate of 6.7 million tons. The year was one of even more than normal activity for the Whangpoo Conser- vancy Board. A further new record was established for dredging work in the har- bour and its approaches, 4.3 million cubic yards (barge measure) of mud being removed and used for the most part on the various land reclamation schemes now being carried out; the Wayside Bar dredging referred to in the last report was successfully completed; and the channel in the Whangpoo was well maintained at the following least depths below lowest low water:-
Outer (Woosung Forts): 31 feet 6 inches.
Astraea Channel (Gough Island): dredging to 30 feet completed over half
width.-
Black Point Crossing: 26 feet.
Wayside Bar Crossing (Shanghai side): 28 feet.
Bund Crossing: 28 feet.
Kiangnan Arsenal Crossing: 28 feet.
Powder Magazine Crossing: 26 feet.
Crossing above Cement Works: 27 feet.
Besides the work accomplished in the Whangpoo, much was done in preparation for the operations to be. commenced in 1935 on the Yangtze Bar dredging scheme. Some idea of the magnitude of this latter scheme was given in the report for 1933. It may be stated here, however, that the Bar in question is more than 2 miles wide; that deep draught ships are affected by it over a distance of about 20 miles; and that it is proposed to cut through it a navigable channel 1,000 feet wide and 9 feet deeper than the crest of the Bar, a project involving the removal of over 20 million cubic yards of mud. The giant drag suction-dreger ordered from Germany for this work was launched at Danzig in September and was practically ready to sail for China before the end of the year, while its locally built buoy-tender was actually completed and commissioned during the period under review.