1890. 1891. 1892. 1893. 1894. Year. TABLE 4.-Motive power and chief materials of construction, etc.—Continued. 1890.. Sail 4 845 536 536, 638 200 391, 166 TABLE 5.-Total number and tonnage of steam vessels (over 100 tons) and sail vessels TABLE 5.-Total number and tonnage of steam vessels, etc.-Continued. Vessels built in the world (over 100 tons) according to Lloyd's (including vessels not recorded in Lloyd's). THE WORLD. Table 6.—Vessels built in the world (over 100 tons) according to Lloyd's, etc.—Cont'd. During 1893, exclusive of war ships, 536 vessels of 836,383 tons gross (viz, 438 steamers of 718,277 tons and 98 sailing vessels of 118,106 tons) have been launched in the United Kingdom. The war ships launched at both Government and private yards amount to 18 of 45,898 tons displacement. The total output of the United Kingdom for the year has, therefore, been 554 vessels of 882,281 tons. The output of the year in the United Kingdom falls short of that of 1892 by more than 273,000 tons, but the proportion of steam tonnage to the total tonnage launched has been much higher. In 1892, sailing tonnage formed no less than 24 per cent of the output; in 1893, it has only formed 14 per cent. The maximum productive capacity of the shipbuilding yards of the country may perhaps be nearly indicated by the output of the year 1889, which was no doubt the largest ever recorded. That year's production will, therefore, serve as a standard with which to compare the work of 1893. In 1889, 595 steamers of 1,083,793 tons, and 95 sailing vessels of 125,568 tons (total, 690 vessels of 1,209,361 tons) were launched. It will be seen that these figures exceed those for 1893 by more than 50 per cent on the steam tonnage, and by more than 44 per cent on the total tonnage, the sailing tonnage being at about the same level. Roughly speaking, therefore, the shipbuilding facilities of the country have only been two-thirds utilized during 1893. The work of last year would appear at still greater disadvantage if the production of war ships were included in the comparison. As regards the material employed for the construction of the vessels included in the United Kingdom returns for 1893, it is found that, of the steam tonnage, 98.4 per cent has been built of steel and 1.4 per cent of iron. The iron steam tonnage is practically made up of trawlers, and includes no vessel of over 400 tons. Of the sailing tonnage, 97.3 per cent has been built of steel, and 0.7 per cent of iron. No sailing vessel of more than 300 tons has been built of iron during the year. Of the total output, no less than 600,622 steam tons and 108,719 sailing tons, or 709,341 tons in all (nearly 85 per cent) belong to ports in the United Kingdom. In this connection it may be noted that Lloyd's Register wreck returns show that the losses, etc., of United Kingdom vessels during twelve months amount to about 260,000 tons (167,000 steam, 93,000 sail). Sales to foreigners for the twelve months ending November, 1893, amounted to 238,910 tons (183,034 steam, 55,876 sail). the other hand, purchases from foreigners during the same period amounted to 29,202 tons (20,918 steam, 8,284 sail). The sailing tonnage of the United Kingdom would thus appear to have decreased by about 32,000 tons, while the steam tonnage has increased by 272,000 tons. The net increase of United Kingdom tonnage during 1893 is therefore about 240,000 tons. On Fifteen per cent of the total output has been built to the order of foreign and colonial shipowners. This proportion is somewhat in excess of last year's figures. Germany has provided the largest amount of work for British shipbuilders, 12 vessels of 30,020 tons (3.6 per cent of the total output) having been built for that country. Norway follows with 11 vessels of 18,069 tons (2.1 per cent). Next come France and Spain, for each of which over 12,000 tons (1.5 per cent) have been built; and Russia and Austria each with about 10,000 tons (1.2 per cent). Of the principal shipbuilding districts of the country, the Clyde takes the lead with a total output of 261,536 tons. This total includes nearly 78 per cent of the sailing tonnage launched in the United Kingdom. Nevertheless, no other district has equaled the Clyde in the production of steamers. After the Clyde come the Tyne (144,261 tons), the Wear (118,317 tons), the Tees (89,707 tons), Belfast (85,723 tons), and the Hartlepools (79,120 tons). The largest steamers launched in the United Kingdom during the year are the following: Tons gross. 8, 607 8,315 The largest sailing vessel is the Royal Forth, 3,130 tons gross. In 1892 only 1 steamer (the Campania) was launched, which exceeded 7,000 tons. During last year 5 steamers exceeded that tonnage. On the other hand, 7 sailing vessels exceeded 3,000 tons in 1892, as compared with only 1 in 1893. It may be mentioned that the totals for the year under review include 1 "turret deck" steamer (viz, the Turret Age, which is the second of the type built in this country); 1 "whaleback" steamer (viz, the Sagamore, the first of the type in this country); 24 steamers, averaging 3,620 tons gross, and 2 sailing vessels for the carriage of petroleum in bulk, and 65 steam trawlers. As regards the movements of the shipbuilding industry during the course of 1893 Lloyd's Register returns show that (irrespective of war ships) the tonnage under construction in the United Kingdom on December 31, 1893, exceeded that under construction twelve months previously by about 12 per cent. At the close of 1892 570,741 tons (506,782 steam, 63,959 sail) were reported to be under construction. By the present time these figures have risen to 641,981 tons (578,026 steam, 63,955 sail), the quarterly returns having in the meantime fluctuated between these two extremes. Attention is drawn to the statistics respecting colonial and foreign shipbuilding during 1893. Although it is obviously difficult to publish at so early a date complete figures for the year, probably few, if any, vessels of importance are omitted from the table. No doubt, however, some vessels of small tonnage built in the more remote districts have not been reported. The figures should, therefore, be looked upon as somewhat under rather than over the mark. The table indicates that (excluding war vessels) there have been built abroad during the year 135 steamers of 121,606 tons and 175 sailing vessels of 68,752 tons. If to these figures be added those for the United Kingdom, the total output of the world during 1893 (exclusive of war ships) appears to have been about 1,027,000 tons (840,000 steam, 187,000 sail). Lloyd's Register wreck returns (1891 and 1892) show that the seagoing tonnage of all nationalities totally lost, broken up, etc., in the course of twelve months amounts to about 637,000 tons (268,000 steam, 369,000 sail). It will thus be seen that while the sailing tonnage of the world has been largely reduced during 1893, there has been a net increase in the world's seagoing mercantile tonnage of upwards of 390,000 tons. TABLE 7.-Vessels (over 100 tons) built at colonial and foreign ports during 1893. [NOTE. Probably few, if any, merchant vessels of importance are not included in this table; but some vessels of small tonnage, particularly sailing vessels built in the more remote districts, have, no doubt, not been reported, and are consequently omitted. No torpedo boats have been included.] Except where otherwise stated, these warships are intended for the navies of the countries in which they have been built. TABLE 7.-Vessels (over 100 tons) built at colonial and foreign ports during 1893—Cont'd. * Except where otherwise stated, these warships are intended for the navies of the countries in which they have been built. + Including two, of about 250 tons each, for Haiti. For Russia. Vessels built on the shores of the Great Lakes are not included. Vessels launched in the United Kingdom and built abroad during 1893. ships). |