File No. 841.85/31
The British Shipping Delegate ( Royden) to the Chairman of the Shipping Board ( Hurley)1
Note as to Tonnage Building in the Name of the Cunard Steamship Co., Ltd., for the British Government in the United States
The British mercantile marine has lost through enemy attack over 4,000,000 tons of shipping during the war; the net loss after taking into account enemy prize and interned ships and new construction being two and one-fourth million tons.
The American mercantile marine, including prize and interned ships, has in the same period increased by one and three-fourths million tons.
The policy of the British Government in regard to vessels building in Great Britain for—
- (a)
- Allies
- (b)
- Neutrals
is to allow the former to take their vessels as soon as completed, and in the case of the latter to charter them from the owners at a remunerative rate for the duration of the war. In both cases the ships remain the property of the original owners.
On account of continued losses of tonnage through submarine attacks and the seriously reduced output of British shipbuilding yards owing to their activities being largely devoted to work for the Royal Navy, the British Government decided that they must look elsewhere for new construction. Some vessels were brought [bought] from Japanese shipbuilding, and others were contracted for with builders in the United States and Canada.
With regard to those purchased in the United States a considerable number were the property of Norwegian owners, the balance being new contracts.
The negotiations were conducted in the name of Cunard Steamship Co., as it was thought that there was a better chance of getting reasonable prices in this way than by direct action of the British Government.
[Page 617]The British Government are quite willing that the Government of the United States should take entire control of the building of all their vessels in the United States yards, and will pay the additional cost, if any, of expediting their construction.
They are, however, most anxious that when completed the vessels should be handed over to them.
These ships will be largely employed in carrying cargo between American and British ports; it being the policy of the British Government to draw all supplies so far as they can be obtained there, from the United States.
To this end they have already withdrawn many vessels from trade with the British colonies and the East and sent them to load in the United States.
The vessels building for the British Government in the United States will be used solely in the interests of the Allied cause, and not to further private trade interests.
In drawing up their program of the future operations the British Government have relied on the possession and use of these vessels, and should this anticipation not be realized they will be very seriously embarrassed.
- Copy received from the Shipping Board in communication dated Aug. 17.↩