oe ien ethereal enlll ame ee Me a | SEPUOHOCUROEEOORCOEOOOOEEE 3 “Canada and the USSR. Two mari- time countries. Two social systems. Two policies on the question of a merchant marine. Take your pick— which one is better?" By BERT WHYTE On Oct. 21, 1944 the 1,000th ship built in Canadian yards during the Second World War was launched in Toronto. It was the minesweeper H.M.S. Myrmidon—but ships for the merchant navy were also coming off the ways. By October 1944 the follow- ing Cargo vessels and tankers had been built in Canadian shipyards: 10,000-ton freighters 10,000-ton tankers 00... 10,000-ton maintenance vessels. 3 10,000-ton victualling ships ...... 7 4,700-ton freighters 30 3,600-ton tankers 6 165-ft. naval auxiliary tankers __. 2 In addition.Canadian shipyard work- ers had turned out, in a wartime peri- od of five years, 148 special vessels— base supply ships, boom vessels, der- rick ships, salvage vessels, large steel tug, etc. . Canada’s merchant marine was a going concern in those days. We not only met our own needs but were able to deliver more than 100 ships to the United Kingdom under Mutual Aid and sell 90 merchant ships outright to the United States. The 500 combat vessels and naval craft built by Canadian: workers in 21 major shipyards included destroyers, frigates, corvettes, patrol boats, mine- sweepers and motor torpedo boats, The occasion of the launching of the 1,000th ship (actually nine ships were launched on that historic day, one for each province) brought this tribute from Vice-Admiral Sir Alfred Evans, head of the British Admiralty technical mission in Ottawa: “It is in no small measure due to Canadian shipyards that the Battle of the Atlantic was won, that today the oceans do not sever but link up the United Nations; that immense armies ‘and air fleets smash Germany’s last defences and that the bastions of the Japanese Empire are constantly and successfully assailed. The Royal Navy and the British Admiralty are proud to acknowledge their debt.” ' Those were the days, my friends— we thought they’d never end. Ship- yards were expanding, not only be- cause of war requirements but in pre- paration for peace — for who could doubt that Canada’s merchant fleet would play an important role in peace- time economy? We might have been more astute had we taken a long look at our own history .. . “In 1878 Canada was the fourth largest ship-owning nation in the world with over 7,000 vessels totalling one and a third million tons,” wrote A. L. Brown and E. T..Steeves in the official | a —] — —J J — — —) —J —) —) a toe — —) ee — — —j —) — es —) — — om ene — — — —j a — won 7 — —J _— oa a — os — — a — — — — — eo ene — re — — — me — pom eo — ro — i — a — -— — fee -_ — —) es — —t — J — —) —) nee — —y — - = —J —) —) —J — — —J — = -— J ew — -_ — -_ - -_ — ee i i 7 — — — —_ — — — — — cond om — — — — — ror — —j — — - —) — ms — — — — — — oe — —j mn — -_ J os — — — —_ — oo — — — — ee — — — — — -_ — ma -_ a -— - — - -— —j —j —) —J —J —) —J — —) —) oo — —J 7 I ao —) — —) —J —7 —J —J -_ —) — —J — —J —J — = —) om -_ = —) —J —7 — J — — — — -— — J — — —) — — — — —j — oo —) —j — —) —) = — = — = = — = = Two merchant marine policies ; quill HUCCEYETAPUGAEOUAEAAEAAUELEGEEOUOEOUAEOEAGEUNOOEONOUOUOUOEOEOOAOAOSUGOUOUGEOUOEOUOOUGULOUOOOLOUSUOEOOOUGDOUOOUODONEGCOUOAGOUELOUGUONOEGEAOUOUOUOOOELOOUD: COnGnGOOEqEqOUOEONOEONOOONUOOGUONOOGOOOUOUONOnOOGEERUGuOOUOOOuONOuOuOOgOOUOAOOOUEE l Modern fishing vessels of the Atlantic type being built in the GDR for export to the Soviet Union. Centennial. publicity book, Canada 1867-1967. “The depression (of the *90’s—B.W.), competition from foreign flag vessels and particularly the advent of iron and steel ships saw Canadian shipbuilding and vessel ownership fall behind that of Britain and the United States. By 1900, ocean shipping ton- nage had decreased by nearly half and continued to decline until World War 1 A “As mentioned previously, the Can- adian shipping and shipbuilding indus- ‘tries had deteriorated to the point of extinction by 1914. World War I, how- : ever, gave new life to the industry and Canada emerged from the war with one of the largest merchant fleets and shipbuilding capacities in the world. The depression of the early 1920’s and the great depression of the 1930s, plus growing competition from other marine nations, however, brought about a serious decline in Canada’s international sea-borne ship- ping which continued to the outbreak of World War II in 1939. During and after the war, this pattern of rapid ex- pansion and decline in the industry was once again repeated.” That’s all the book says. No men- tion of the role of shipping industrial- ists who fought to smash the unions and transferred ships to foreign regis- try, Operating them under “‘flag-of-con- venience” regulations. No mention of the shameful government role in al- lowing these firms to get away with their clandestine manoeuvrings and swindle schemes. No mention of the thousands of shipyard workers thrown out of jobs as a result. of these mani- pulations. No demand that Canada’s exports should be carried in Canadian- built and Canadian-operated merchant ships. “Numerous young Canadians who have passed through the government training schools and who have experi- .enced the thrills of a sea voyage on a ‘merchantman for the first time write — back that they wish to adopt seafaring as a life career,” enthused the War- time Information Board publication, Canada at War, in its issue No. 39, August 1944. And where are these trained seamen now? Some of them, middle-aged today, work on coastal or Great Lakes ships. The majority have had to abandon their calling: many are no doubt mem- bers of Canada’s growing army of un- employed. Put the blame where the blame lies: PACIFIC TRIBUNE-FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9,71-97Z04PNGE 10 2." i on our government at Ottawa, which has cooperated and continues to co- operate with the big monopolies who run Our country on a “profit-first’” basis. C) And what happens to a merchant marine in a country where the work- ers have control? In the USSR, for in- stance? Tonnage of the Soviet merchant ma- rine will reach 13 million tons this year. From small beginnings it has grown to be the sixth largest merchant fleet in the world, It basically satisfies the country’s requirements in foreign trade carriage and also is doing well in the world chartering market. This success in international sea- going trade worries the Americans. The magazine US News and World Report accuses Soviet cargo lines of operating at ‘dumping rates” to achieve “strategic goals.” Moscow, it complains, is trying to “weaken the West.” The USSR Ministry of Merchant Ma- rine made the following comment on the American charges: “No one denies that there is an economic competition going on be- tween the two systems. Socialism is demonstrating its superiority over cap- italism. This is an irreversible histor- ical process, and because it cannot be halted certain US quarters are getting worried. For the fact is that the Soviet merchant fleet, like many other bran- ches of our. industry and transport services, is technically more advanced than the fleet of the leading Western countries, including the US. “Even a cursory survey of the past 10 years will show that US shipping is in the throes of a deepening crisis. The tonnage of the US mercantile fleet has declined from 25 million in 1958 to 15 million this year. Besides, it should be remembered that the ton- nage of the operating fleet is barely 10 milion; the rest: is in mothballs. Only 15% of the United States’ mer- chant ships were built in the course of the last 10 years. The rates charged by US shipping companies are more than double the world standard. On the whole, the US merchant fleet is Operating at a loss... “Over the years the Soviet merchant fleet operating on international sea lanes has earned a good reputation among many shippers and shipowners. This reputation cannot be undermined by made-to-order fabrications.” ae ae be . Over 80% of Soviet ships were bul in the last decade. Technical prot is continuing. Replacement of § vessels by large ones cuts speé 14 knots or over. 40 Here is what Timofei Guzher | USSR Minister of Merchant Mal has to say: a ft “Soviet transport ships built 1 oft | cent years are on the level of mod techniques of shipbuilding, advan communications and navigation. , decisive role in the renovation of i fleet belongs to the home shipbuil if industry. We also place big orders af Poland, the GDR, Yugoslavia, Finla™ and other countries. ie “In order to raise the fleet’s effi? cy, much attention is paid, for & i ple, to the reduction of anchoraé time in seaports. The Soviet Un was one of the first countries to a big-tonnage general cargo ship. “Analysis shows that no_ big power can equal our intensified ploitation of ships in general. The * ther technical progress in the aed opment of the Soviet. merchant mar : envisages the construction (for. a responding cargoes and directions) . ships having optimum dimensions on design and an expedient degree of tomatiation of work-processes. i “In the past four years the fleet : . been replenished by modern new ship) with a total tonnage of some a | million tons. The freight turnove! the sea transport has gone up bY i percent. Seaports have been impror and re-equipped, the ship-buildit yards are being expanded and 1) ones are being built.” ae In addition to freighters and tanké the Soviet merchant fleet includes a 18;000-ton liners, one of which is i miliar to Canadians — the motors! Alexander Pushkin, which is on Montreal-Leningrad run. The 0 (0! three sister ships are used mostly hth = st 2as ‘voyages on the Black Sea and Mediterranean. A) Guzhenké was asked if the uss intends to build any speedy liners !”) the pre-war titans—Queen Mary, mandy, Ile de France, Queen Eliza (28.5 knots, 83,000 gross tons). ft “The, times of ‘Atlantic races’ #,| over,” the minister replied, ‘“Theré no longer any need for gigantic line” the floating palaces; their place i being taken over by ships modest © pel} ‘size but more. economical, There is * sense in beating the sea records f the 30’s and 40’s; it does not pay 4 surpass the 25-30 knots speed-lim! because of the: excessive growth 7 | wave resistance. As for the very late liners like the France and Queen zabeth, it may be said that it was question of prestige when they we built.” ad As for ‘tankers, the USSR is buil ing bigger ones (up to 150,000 tom® but is not» planning any super-tanke” because of their limited manoevY ability. . na ~ Year by year the Soviet merchal 3 marine grows and the shipbuilding ”} dustry flourishes. ft © 4 Canada and the USSR. Two maf! time countries. Two social system) Two policies on the question’ of merchant marine. Take your pick which one is better? mec aS = SP