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822 exchange which remains quite steady. Entrances and clearances of vessels into and from British ports for the first five months of 1925 were slightly in excess of the figures for the cor- responding period of 1924 both in num- bers and in tonnage. In the period under review, a total of 21,096 ves- sels, trading foreign, of 21,362,924 tons entered British ports with cargoes, compared with 19,572 vessels of 20,- 427,507 tons in 1924. From Jan. 1 to May 31, this year, 25,099 vessels of 25,600,445 tons cleared from British ports with cargoes to foreign destina- tions, including British Dominions, compared with 26,592 vessels of 26,- 271,398 tons in the corresponding peri- od of 1924. Entrances of both foreign and British ships have increased as to number and tonnage. Clearances and British ships have decreased in number but increased as to tonnage, ne oe Hee ale NO LN ne Ae ie Pe Te DIAGRAM SHOWING FLUCTUATION while clearances of foreign ships have decreased in numbers and tonnage. The freight markets have reached a state which has been qualified as of unprecedented depression. The acute- ness of the crisis is such that the Bal- tic and White Sea conference which met at Oslo, Norway on June 18, adopted a resolution aiming at the regulation of the supply of tonnage. One resolution also urgently called on all shipowners to “lay up their ships rather than enter into any charter that does not give some reasonable hope of a margin of profit.” As a matter of fact, a considerable tonnage is laid up as a result of the restricted demand. The Freight Register esti- mates that in the River Plate alone, 180 vessels are laid up, aggregating about one million tons. All home- ward rates have declined since the end of December, 1924. Grain from the River Plate to the United King- dom has dropped from 25s 6d ($6.20) ; grain from the Danube to British ports has dropped from 19s ($4.62) to 17s 6d ($4.25); rice from Burmah to Brit- ish ports has dropped from 33s 9d ($8.20) to 22s 6d ($5.48); grain from Australia to Great Britain has dropped from 49 ($11.90) to 35s ($8.50). Out- MARINE REVIEW ward coal rates have varied but little, except to Buenos Ayres in which case the rate increased from 11s ($2.57) to 18s ($4.87) in order to make up for unsatisfactory return freights. Tonnage Exceeds Requirements These low rates are the result of the enormous amount of available ton- nage which is to be absorbed, follow- ing the restricted demand for space. There are about a dozen steamers for every firm order on the markets. There were signs of activity in the River Plate market, also at Montreal, at the beginning of May, but since then matters have become gradually worse. Although stocks of grain in Europe are low, circumstances compel buying to be effected on a _ hand-to- mouth basis. The Eastern market is weak. Boats have returned from the Black Sea in ballast, and Montreal and the Northern range have become dull in turn. Coal fixtures have been taken from Hampton Roads to South America at rates forced down by cut- throat competition, while Cuban sugar requirements have not been sufficient to enable owners to meet expenses. As a result, a round voyage done at any profit at all is an exception, while a few owners are ordering their boats back in ballast in order to lay them up at home, awaiting for more favor- able circumstances. However, this course of action is not generally adopted since it tends to help foreign steamers which are on the look-out for any business to be captured. A more hopeful tone has prevailed since the beginning of July; homeward freight markets have improved and the undertone is better. About 30 fix- tures were put through on one day, which is an improvement on the past. Shipbuilding At Low Point The index number of British ship- ping freights, as can be seen on the accompanying chart, dropped) con- tinuously from the beginning of the year when it pointed at 30.20 until May when it reached the very low point of 24.8. The present con- September, 1925 ditions in the freight markets account for the fact that owners are not con- tracting for new tonnage, especially at the average price asked by British shipbuilders, which is about £9 ($43.75) to £9 10s ($46) a ton. As a result, the British shipbuilding in- dustry is in a serious condition, un- employment in the shipyards is con- siderable and on May 25 there were over 80,000 men out of work with an increasing tendency. Lloyd’s Reg- ister of shipbuilding returns show that for the quarter ended June 30, the tonnage under construction in Great Britain and Ireland was 1,093,- 587 tons, or about 72,000 tons less than at the end of March 1925 and about 423,000 tons less than a year ago. A recent shipbuilding engineering development is the construction of the twin-screw motor vessel PROMETHEUS OF OCEAN FREIGHT RATES FOR FOUR YEARS AND FIVE MONTHS by Alfred Holt & Co. of Liverpool, in co-operation with Scott’s Shipbuild- ing and Engineering Co., Greenock. The ship is built of what is termed “elastic limit steel” giving a decrease of 10 per cent in weight of material, representing about 400 tons addi- tional carrying capacity on a ship of 6300 tons gross. Actual service tests will be completed. The most powerful motorship in the world, the passenger liner ASTURIAS was launched on July 7 from the yards of Harland and Wolff in Belfast for the Royal Mail. The vessel registers 22,000 tons gross and has four-cycle double acting diesel engines developing 20,000 horsepower on two shafts. She is intended for the South American trade. Another motorship, the ALCONTARA is. being completed on the same lines by Har- land and Wolff, of 21,000 tons and will be fitted with diesel engines of 10,000 indicated horsepower of the Burmeister & Wain type. The speed of the engine is 115 revolutions per minute, each of the eight cylinders having a 88-inch bore and 59-inch stroke. An order for a passenger steamer 300 feet long has been awarded to a British firm for Canada. A new de-