UNITED STATES SHIPPING BOARD, a board created by an act of Congress approved Sept. 7, 1916, entitled:— An act to establish a United States Shipping Board for the purpose of encouraging, developing and creating a naval auxiliary and naval reserve and a merchant marine to meet the requirements of the com merce of the United States with its territories and possessions and with foreign countries ; to regulate carriers by water engaged in foreign and interstate commerce of the United States ; and for other purposes.
Under the act the board was authorized to form a shipping corporation with a capital stock not exceeding $5o,000,000, of which a majority was to be held by the United States, for the purchase, construction, equipment, lease, charter and operation of merchant vessels in the commerce of the United States. The act provided that the $50,000,000 to be placed at the disposal of the board would be raised through the sale of Panama Canal bonds. The shipping corporation provided for in the act was incorporated under the name of the Emergency Fleet Corpora tion, but in 1927 Congress changed the name to the U.S. Shipping Board Merchant Fleet Corporation.
In the spring of 1917, when the United States entered the war, there were in the country 37 steel ship-yards with 162 ways and 24 wooden ship-yards with 72 ways, capable of launching vessels of 3,500 dead-weight tons. At the signing of the Armistice in 1918, there were in all 223 ship-yards, steel and wood, with a total of 1,099 ways. At the close of the war the Shipping Board
controlled a total fleet of 1,196 vessels of 6,540,205 dead-weight tons. These vessels were acquired by : (4) New ships built by the Shipping Board. (2) American ships requisitioned on "time" and "bare boat" charters. (3) Seized German ships. (4) Com mandeered Dutch ships. (5) Chartered neutral ships.
The Shipping Board is an independent department of the execu tive branch of the Government. The powers given the board under the act to regulate the operation of common carriers by water make its powers not unlike those of the Interstate Com merce Commission. However, it is expressly provided in the act that the board has not concurrent jurisdiction with the Interstate Commerce Commission in matters within the latter's power.
Following the directions of Congress, contained in the Mer chant Marine Act of 1916, as amended in 192o, the Shipping Board has gradually disposed of its vessels to American citizens. Some vessels were disposed of with the obligation that the vessel would be used in a definite service and trade. The sale of some vessels carried with it the obligation to undertake alterations, betterments and reconditioning under approved plans and speci fications.