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i 'trouble, another great anxiety has been that of securing adequate sup- plies of bunker Su In the United Kingdom the socalled zone system ipplies. Vessels aregrequired to take coal, from particulesters Thus South Wales has beef called upon to supply Liverpool, London, and _ the ports of the south coast, whereas be- fore the war, coal was largely sup- plied by the north east coast. Restric- tions regarding bunkering have great- ly handicapped managers of cargo lin- ers during the past quarter. 'There 'is, for instance, a regulation requir- ing that vessels shall only bunker at their last loading port. This has pre- vented, "in some instances, owners sending their vessels to particular ports. The coal problem became so serious that owners were able to in- terest merchants at the London chamber of commerce in the matter. Sir Robert Horne, who has succeeded Sir Auckland Geddes as président of the board of trade, has shown that he appreciates the extreme importance ef adequate coaling facilities for ship- ping. Hope For Coal Price Cut It was shown in the June issue of the Marine Review that the collieries had agreed to some reduction from the fabulous charges which were be- ing levied for coal. As from March 24, the rate for large coal in South Wales . was reduced to 80 shillings per ton. Industrial works were able to get their supplies at about half that rate. There is reason to believe that the board of trade has approved of coal for bunkers being placed on the same basis as coal for industrial works. Effect has not yet been given to this decision, but the arrangement is expected to be provided for short- ly by legislation. When this is done shipping companies will be insured of regular supplies at lower prices. A rate of 45 shillings per ton is being 'spoken of in well informed quarters as probable. By such a plan, ship- ping managers will be relieved of a load of anxiety. It has not been so much the high prices charged as the difficulty of getting supplies which has worried them. Delays in port to ships while waiting for coal have been extremely serious. The problem of oil fuel has not yet come to be vital for the cargo liner companies. The number of such British vessels which burn oil fuel is comparatively few. "Some owners took the precaution of fitting their vessels to burn either coal or oil, although this policy is open to criti- cism on the ground that it does not enable full advantage to be taken of the benefits of oil fuel, such as re- 4 an | THE MARINE REVIEW duction in labor. The problem of securing sufficient oil fuel is such that a number of large steamers which were being built to burn oil were suddenly adapted this year to burn coal as well. The owners were advised that steady supplies of oil fuel could not be guaranteed. Owners of cargo liners have still been handicapped by inadequate ton- nage. New services are known to be under consideration for establishment when more tonnage is available. In this connection owners are much in- terested in a number of new services which are being instituted by the Canadian Government Merchant Ma- rine, Ltd. the stock of which is owned by the Canadian government. Owners naturally do not like 'the idea -of government ownership of shipping. Yet they are willing to acknowledge that the management of the Canadian government merchant marine is adopting an enterprising policy, and is trying to interfere as little as pos- sible with existing services. Within the past. few days, an- nouncement has been made that the Canadian government will inaugurate services this year from the Canadian Atlantic ports via the Mediterranean to India and the Straits Settlements. Immediately the Ellerman _& Buck- nall Steamship Co. stated that it had been in negotiation for some time past for a similar service and that it had only just heard of the Canadian, government's intention. The) 6st steamer in this company's service is to load in July. It would seem that later on, there will be some competi- tion in this route. It is perhaps be- cause of its enterprising policy in seeking out new routes that the Cana- dian government scheme has aroused so. little criticism. The policy. of the Australian government in competing in the trade between Australia and the United Kingdom has. caused a great deal of friction both, among owners and merchants. Passenger Liners Needed Managers of the fast passenger and mail liners have also insisted on the extreme importance to them of the fuel problem. If and when bunker coal is placed in the same class as coal for industrial works, their diffi- culties will be reduced. They, more than any other class of steamship Owners, are feeling the scarcity of tonnage. As everybody knows, pas- senger vessels were not built during the war. The demand for passenger accommodation is not as keen as it was. The long waiting lists of pas- sengers have been reduced or in some cases eliminated. In the South Ameri- can trade, the companies are practi- August, 1929 cally level with the demand. During the summer months, the bookings . the Far East are comparatively light and a heavy demand may again he expected in the early autumn. Fares have now been raised to a point beyond which managers realize they cannot well advance them. A, long as vast numbers of people were waiting to travel, the level of the rate did not seriously affect the vol. ume of traffic. But the present high rates may' well be a hindrance to those to whom travel is a luxury, The total receipts from passengers in order to make voyages profitable, are now, as compared with the prewar level, enormous. Conversion Costs Mount In the North Atlantic trade, the end of the second quarter finds the OtymPic and AQUITANIA. appearing after a long and expensive period of reconditioning. of converting the liners from coal to oil fuel is estimated at £500,000, This figure is probably near enough to the actual cost to indicate the enormous cost, which is known to have been far greater than was anti- cipated. . This. cost, coupled with uncertainties of obtaining regular sup- plies of fuel when the vessels are con- yerted, is likely to make owners of other vessels think carefully before committing themselves to a similar undertaking. It is known that the work of adapting the MaAureranra will, at any rate, not be undertaken this year. This vessel should be useful in helping to cope with the great de- mand for accommodation for the voyage from Europe to: the United States which sets in during the late summer months. To sum up, the end of the second quarter finds the position for owners of ordinary cargo steamers distinctly less vosy. The tine charter rate is falling and similarly the voyage rates generally are easicr. Yet a substan- tial margin of profit still is left in the rates. It is quite likely that rates will fall lower yet. The cargo liner companies are benefiting by getting more ships back into_ service, and they are encouraged by the prospect of less anxiety in the immediate future respecting coal. The unfavor- able feature is the fall in freights. The barometer for the owners of the fast passenger and mail liners seems at present to set steady. They, in turn, must expect rates in the long run to fall, On the other hand, they have their agreements with the 'mer- chants and they will be able to char- ter tonnage at lower. rates than has hitherto been practicable. They will bene- fit too from lower prices for coal. In each case the cost .