ON THE SEA.

Taranaki Daily News, 6 November 1918, Page 7

ON THE SEA.

EFFICACY OF CONVOYS, GREAT TRANSPORT RECORD. London, Nov. 4. Between October 4 and 26 the Admiralty convoyed 75,722 merchantmen, of whic'a 4:13 were lost, or .51 per cent. The Atlantic convoys, from June 26, I!H7, to October 5, 1918, comprised 14,!)08 ships, of a gross tonnage of //,057,231, of which 118 were lost, whose tonnage was 654,233. To carry the 1918 Argentine wheat crop 307 ships of a tonnage of 1,466,000 were convoyed, of which only one was lost. .-■a n-ilHon ton-: of munitions were convoyed c the United llingdum. vYhereas prior tj the convoy system we lost 40 per cent, of the ships' tiic present rate of loss is approximately 1 per cent. The relative risk of loss to and from the Unite.l Kingdom for the three quarters of 1918 shows the most satisfactory reduction. The total traffic for that period increased by one-third, while the risk of loss decreased by one-lialf. The success of the convoy system has been largely due to the way mercantile shipmasters co-operated with the navy, and their skill in keeping stations in bad weather and under attack was splendid.—Aus. N.Z. Cable Assoc. SUCCESS OF NEW BOAT. Rome, Nov. 4, The destruction of the Viribus Unitis was due to a new boat invented by Commander Rosetti, leader of the raid.—Aus. N.Z. Cable Assoc.