COMPARATIVE SHIPPING RETURN FOR LAST 5 MONTHS 1913-1914.
1,782 3,606,632 1,630 3,068,842
1913 1914 Increase Decrease No. Reg. Tonnage No. Reg. Tonnage No. Reg. Tonnage No. Tonnage British Ocean-going 152 537,790 152 537,790 Foreign Ocean-going 601 1,306,957 753 1,844,747 601 1,306,957 Junks Foreign Trade 355,319 Total 3,768 7,652,121 3,015 5,807,374 792,569 1,147,918First Seven Months.-Here is seen a continuation, more especially in British vessels, of the steady increase which has been noted during past years, amounting, in the case of British ships, to 206 ships of 408,109 tons, or 8.5 per cent. in numbers and 8.4 per cent. in tonnage, compared with 6.4 per cent. and 8.6 per cent. respectively in 1913.
Foreign Ocean-going vessels increased by 119 ships of 624,458 tons, or 4.4 per cent. in numbers and 11.9 per cent. in tonnage, compared with 7.1 per cent. and 7.9 per cent. respectively in 1913.
The average tonnage of the British ships entering decreased from 1,995.2 to 1,992.4, while that of Foreigners increased from 1,948.9 to 2,080.9.
A large decrease shown in the Junk trade, which amounts to 1,731 vessels (8.5 per cent.) of 28,122 tons (1.3 per cent.), is, for reasons which will appear later, not borne out by facts, but is really due to the increasing habit on the part of the Junk Masters of failing to report themselves.
Last Five Months.-The effect of the war in the Ocean Trade of the port is here well shown. In British Ocean-going vessels there is shown a decrease of 152 ships of 537,790 tons, or 8.5 per cent. in numbers and 14.9 per cent. in tonnage.
Foreign Ocean-going shipping decreased by 601 ships of 1,306,957 tons, or 30.2 per cent. in numbers and 32.3 per cent. in tonnage. Of this, the practical extinction of German and Austrian tonnage is responsible for 27.2 per cent. in numbers and 26.4 per cent. in tonnage, while the remaining 3 per cent. and 5.9 per cent. represent the net result of increases and decreases under other flags. Here are found increases under Norwegian (17.4 per cent. in numbers and 22.6 per cent. in tonnage, compared with the figures for the corresponding period of 1913), and Chinese (4.5 per cent. in numbers and in tonnage), while under the Dutch flag an increase of 8.9 per cent. in tonnage is combined with a decrease of 7.2 per cent. in numbers. Decreases are shown under Russian (64.7 per cent. in numbers and 68.3 per cent. in tonnage), Portuguese (30.5 per cent. in numbers and 20.3 per cent. in tonnage), United ...