LLOYD'S REGISTER OF SHIPPING. A society with head office in London, for the survey and classification of mer cantile shipping and which may be said to have set the rec ognized standard for the construction of vessels throughout the world during the last century. In all essentials it is a public body having no pecuniary or commercial purpose to serve other than those of the shipping interests in general.
The society had its origin, like the parent institution of Lloyd's, in the coffee house of Edward Lloyd in the reign of Charles II. For the assistance of the underwriters and merchants frequenting the coffee house, a list became necessary of the vessels offered for insurance of hulls and cargo. These lists, at first in manu script, attained the dignity of a printed volume in 1760, and were strictly limited in circulation. The Register for 1775-76 is interesting as being the earliest book containing the familiar class of Ai, which has been replaced in modern times by the class rooAr for steel and iron vessels, Differences arose regarding the standards adopted for classifi cation, and in 1800 the shipowners published a book of their own. The two registers continued in independent circulation until 1833, when a reorganization took place. and Lloyd's Register of Shipping became an independent institution, and for the first time standard rules for shipbuilding were issued. In the re constituted society the management was vested in a committee elected by the merchants, underwriters and shipowners of Lon don, and from time to time representatives have been added of shipping centres in the country, and of shipbuilders and engineers, so that it now numbers 75 members. There are in addition local committees at Liverpool and Glasgow, together with committees abroad; viz., in the United States of America, France, Sweden, Holland and Japan.
The register book consists of three royal quarto volumes con taining detailed particulars of all vessels afloat of ioo tons and upwards, and is remarkable for the fact that of an annual issue of 8,000 copies nearly I,000 copies are collected weekly for the purpose of being kept up to date by hand posting. Lists of ship
owners, shipbuilders, telegraphic addresses and docks and har bours of the world, are included in the work, together with much statistical information relating to shipping. A register of yachts is published independently of the register of shipping; the society also compiles and issues to the Press and shipping public periodical statistics regarding vessels under construction throughout the world. The society's activities comprise the supervision of the construction of a vessel and her machinery from the submission of the plans and the testing of the steel material, through the various stages of building up to the trial trip, and surveys are continued throughout the vessel's life if, the society's class is to be retained. The constructional rules issued by the society are very comprehensive, and cover wood, composite and steel ships, vessels for carrying bulk petroleum, steam and internal com bustion engines, refrigerating and other machinery and electric lighting, also yachts and trawlers. For the purpose of carrying out its numerous and highly specialized duties, the society em ploys a large staff of surveyors of both ships and engines, steel testing surveyors, forgings inspectors and electrical engineers; and its representatives are stationed at the principal ports of the world. Some idea of the magnitude of the operations of Lloyd's Register may be gathered from the circumstances that of 28,967 steam and motor vessels of ioo tons and upwards—of a total tonnage of 63 millions—afloat in the world in 1927, 14,834 vessels of nearly 4o million tons have been built under the survey of the surveyors to the society with a view to classification in the register book. (A. Sc.)