SHIPPING, MINISTRY OF, one of the temporary British departments of State brought into existence when Lloyd George became prime minister in Dec. 1916. Shipping had long been rec ognized within a limited circle as a vital factor in the prosecution of the World War, but it was only about this time that the intensification of the submarine campaign, coupled with the ever growing military demands upon sea transport, gave grounds for real anxiety in regard to the shipping resources of the Allies.
The object in view was thus to bring all the shipping available under the control of one authority to ensure its most economical employment under war conditions and for war purposes.
At the out break of war Great Britain stood easily first among mercantile nations, Germany, whose ships were compelled from the begin ning of the conflict to seek safety in port, being her only com petitor. The possibility that the available tonnage might prove insufficient did not therefore at first enter into the calculations of the Government, though there was ground for anxiety lest ships be prevented from putting to sea and a successful scheme of insurance against war risks had been carefully worked out beforehand. No ship was prevented from going to sea by lack of crew, though at one period on certain routes the loss of one ship in three was almost certain. Once the continued employment of the ships had been assured there seemed at the outset to be no cause for anxiety as to the sufficiency of the 18,000,000 tons of ocean-going ships with which Great Britain entered the war. Ships were taken up for service with the fleet and as transports as occasion arose, the vast majority remaining free to fulfil their normal functions, subject only to restrictions imposed in the interests of safety. It was not until the war had been in progress for more than a year that the conservation of shipping by eliminat ing unnecessary demands began; in 1916 the restriction of im ports as a means of relieving the pressure upon tonnage was first embarked upon. (See WAR CONTROL OF SHIPPING.) The possibility that shipping might prove a governing factor when once realized was not allowed to escape from view, and the facts were not less patent to the enemy. Intensified activity fol lowed on both sides. The submarine campaign became a definite
challenge upon the issue of which all Germany's hopes were cen tred. The establishment of the Shipping Control Committee (q.v.), marked the beginning of the new phase, and the constant occurrence of new demands handled by different governmental authorities tended to throw the economic system of the country out of gear and led to a risk that necessary services might be starved while surplus tonnage was seeking profitable but nationally disadvantageous employment elsewhere.
Prior to the creation of the Ministry the two authorities directly concerned with merchant shipping were the Transport Department of the Admiralty and the Board of Trade. The primary function of the former was to select, if necessary equip for service, and direct the movements of, the ships required by the Navy, and during the war its responsi bilities expanded rapidly. Its activities however did not extend to matters coming within the purview of the Board of Trade, the pre-war responsibility of which, so far as shipping was concerned, was limited to regulating in the interests of passengers and crew the conditions under which ships were employed. This responsibil ity was extended during the war to include such measures of con trol as became necessary in connection with other activities of the Board, which, inter alia, is responsible for watching the general economic condition of the country, and in that capacity it had to devise measures for checking developments which appeared to threaten British economic welfare. Two Committees were set up by the Board in November 1915 with that object. The first—the Ship Licensing Committee—could debar any British ship from undertaking a voyage which for any reason was not approved. The second—the Requisitioning (Carriage of Foodstuffs) Committee —directed British shipping into channels which would assist the importation of food or other necessities. The Board of Trade also from the outbreak of war undertook direct responsibility for, and transport of, all imports of frozen meat. It also saw that the interests of the Mercantile Marine were not overlooked in the competition for materials and for vacant slips in the ship-yards.