The following is a statement by Mr. Ted Hill (President), in the monthly report of the Amalgamated Society of Boilermakers, Shipwrights, Blacksmiths and Structural Workers: URING the past month a controversy has arisen because of a letter I sent to the P. & O. Shipping Company criticising them for building three Oil Tankers in Japan, and it is inferred that had I known the facts, no criticism would have been made. This is not true, and further, knowing the facts does not justify the offence. Over 50 years ago, I started my apprenticeship with the P. & O. Shipping Company, and in those days they traded more in the Eastern
World than they do today, but they still had their ships built in this country.
Had the P. & O. Company raised the money to build these ships in Japan, they may have justified their action, but these ships, like many others built abroad, will be paid for in British currency, and having regard to our immediate balance of payments difficulties and the need to balance our import-export programme, this action cannot be justified. It should be remembered that for every million pounds spent abroad on imports, a greater amount has to be earned from exports to maintain our balance of payments. It might be argued that British
ships are responsible for invisible
earnings abroad, but this alone does
not justify the building of British
ships abroad.
The P. & O. Company tell us
they are expanding their activities
and entering a fast developing fea-
ture of world shipping, and let us
hope other Shipping Companies do
likewise, for they have been dragging
their feet for the past 50 years, for
whilst other maritime powers have
increased their merchant fleets any-
thing between 150% and 600%, the
British merchant fleet has increased
by a little over 15%. British ship-
owners have allowed the British
merchant fleet to run down, and this
cannot be allowed to pass unoticed.
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