U.S. MERCHANT FLEET

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 9, 6 October 1943, Page 5

U.S. MERCHANT FLEET

Peacetime Intention (Received October 5, 9.5 p.m.) WASHINGTON, October 4. The vice-chairman of the Maritime Commission, Rear-Admiral Howard Vickery. upon his return from England, told a Press conference that he had informed the British bluntly that the United States intended to become a maritime nation and remain one after the war, whether or not England co-operated, says the “New York Times” Washington correspondent. Admiral Vickery said : “England has been concentrating on the production of well-built, large and fast ships which would compete with the Americans after the war, while the United States was turning out ‘emergency vessels’ such as the Liberty ships, but now the American shipbuilding programme is so much greater than England’s that we are producing 10 times as many ships of a competitive type. Indeed. America is now producing as many merchantmen of all types monthly as England does annually. Consequently England will be unable after the war to maintain her supremacy on the merchant sea-lanes and will find it advisable to co-operate with America.”

Admiral Vickery added : “I believe wc can co-operate and that the British are ready to co-operate.”