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THE MARINE REVIEW MPORTANT changes in the course of es passenger traffic which were impending some time before the war have been inaugurated in an in- crease, effective recently, in passenge1 fares for first-cabin passengers on the vessels of the principal lines. The chief change is the rise in the cost of first-class passage from Hongkong to San Francisco, Vancouver or Seattle from $225—or rather the pound-sterl- ing equivalent of $225 American gold— to $250 American gold, the American currency hereafter to be the basis of all transpacific rates, thus abandoning a long-established custom of the trade so far as rates eastward are concerned. lex ity of According to a review of ship- ping conditions prepared by _ ship- ping experts and submitted to the American International Corporation before its purchase of the New York Shipbuilding Co., at the out- break of the war the world’s ton- nage of merchant ships over 100 gross tons capacity was 49,000,000 tons. The average annual increase necessary to keep pace with the in- creased need of bottoms has been just a trifle short of 2,000,000 tons. At the normal rate of growth the world’s tonnage January 1, 1917, ought to be 53,000,000 tons. But the first of January will not see a world tonnage of 53,000,000, nor of even 49,000,000. The figure will be nearer 48,000,000. The attention of the public has been drawn to the destruction of ships by submarines. This loss has amounted to 2,800,000 tons, but ac- cording to the bureau of naviga- In transpacific rates for passengers there are two divisions, that from San Francisco, Vancouver or Seattle to Yokohama and that from such Amer- ican ports to Hongkong, Shanghai and Manila. Heretofore the rate from Yo- kohama to the American ports has been the equivalent of $200 American gold, while the rate from Hongkong, Manila and Shanghai has been the equivalent of $225 American gold. This difference is really out of pro- portion to the comparative length of the voyage to the several ports, but the steamer companies have reasoned that a passenger to or from Yoko- hama used cabin accommodations which would otherwise be avail- able for the longer voyages with the larger fare and should therefore pay more in proportion. The same reas- oning has applied to fares between San Francisco and Honolulu, which were even larger in proportion, and for the same reason. Under the new schedule of rates the fare to and from Yokohama re- mains at the present rate, the increase in direct fare applying only to the more distant ports. However, all fares are raised in a way, for the agreement between the steamship companies now effective abolishes all special rates except a one-year round-trip rate. Special rates included percentage re- duction of fares for missionaries and officers of various governments resi- dent in the far east passing to and from their posts and also a 6-month tion, the loss due to the interrupted ship building caused by over- crowded yards doing repair work is even greater than this figure, and equals 3,200,000 tons. Leaving sub- marine losses out of the question, the new ships launched have not been enough even to replace those scrapped on account of old age and those lost through natural causes. Although the great demand for tonnage has stimulated ship build- ing in the United States, foreign output in neutral countries has been slow, due to small capacity and lack of materials, and in belligerent countries the dropping off in pro- duction has been serious. It is esti- mated that the tonnage of _ the world cannot be brought back to its normal position with regard to world requirements, until 1922 at the earliest. This estimate is pre- dicated on the war coming to an end in 1918 and upon the ship building January, 1917 EAGLE and by the Toyo Kisen Kaisha on Nippon Maru and Persia Maru. While no definite announcement has been made it is understood in shipping circles that the rates on other lines, such as the Blue Funnel, the Java- China, and the Osaka Shosen Kaisha, will be advanced proportionately. Canadian Tonnages Low Not since the phenomenally dull period of 1896 and 1897 has the vol- ume of tonnage built in Canada been so low as that turned out during the last fiscal year, when only 13,497 tons were built. The lowest figure on rec- ord is that representing the output of 1896, which was 10,753, and in the following year it was 12,058. Next in siness Ahead for Five Years capacity of the world being largely increased to meet the emergency. There is doubt that the building capacity of the world as applied to merchant tonnage, can be increased at will to meet this emergency, ac- cording to the report. There are too many hindering elements, ef- fective, particularly in European ship yards. England’s merchant fleet amounts to 40 per cent of the ton- nage of the world. One half of that is in government service. The ships of this fleet have been worked relentlessly, and, as a rule have never gone into dock for repairs except when actually disabled. This means that at the end of the war 20 per cent of the world’s ton- nage will be in bad condition, and that British yards will be given over almost entirely to repair work for a considerable period. The same holds true of French and Italian ships and ship yards. round-trip rate, all of which were abol- ished. The passenger agreement on which the rates noted are based is effective between the Canadian Pacific Ocean Services, Ltd., the Toyo Kisen Kaisha and the Pacific Mail Steamship Co. There is some question as yet as to the course to be followed by other lines, notably the Nippon Yusen Kaisha with its service to Seattle. It is understood that this company will adopt rates showing a similar increase, though its charges will remain lower than the standard fares noted, and its course will continue to be independent of the conference lines. The China Mail Steamship Co. will maintain pres- ent rates. The three companies in the agreement issue interchangeable tickets. Intermediate service at lower rates is furnished by the Canadian Pacific line on Empress oF JAPAN and Monrt- order comes 1916, when 13,497 tons were built. It would appear super- fluous to add that at no time has the country been in gréater need of ton- nage not only for lake but ocean purposes. The steady decline of the ship building industry may be gath- ered from the following comparisons of tonnage built and registered in Canada: Tonnage Tonnage Fiscal year. built. registered. UCU AGEN runtea seas anil atiee oe ncanore! 188,008 204,002 PSSO Sara eeeecec a ote 68,756 64,982 bo) Iasieear Dame tern cigs, Greiner tl 39,434 53,853 TOO Oe ccaveenowiroes eee 28,544 40,443 TOMO eee ana aaa 24,059 33,383 LS ESPACE ay Pere rane opp es Sa 45,721 55,384 DOUG owisa eee Oe econ: tac 13,497 102,239 On the other hand, the tonnage call- ing’ at Canadian ports has steadily in- creased except for the two years since the outbreak of the war.