TABLE VII.-Gross and net tonnages of the metal steam vessels of the world, 1890, 1900, and 1910, and the percentage deducted from the gross in ascertaining the net. In studying Table VII the fact must be borne in mind that the gross tonnage of vessels in different countries is determined by dissimilar rules, and that the deductions made from gross to determine net tonnage are not the same in different countries. Thus, the ratio of net to gross tonnage, or the percentage which net is of gross tonnage in one country, can not be closely compared with the ratio or percentage in another country. Nevertheless, the percentage of gross tonnage deducted to determine net tonnage indicates in a general way whether the net tonnage rules of any particular country are intended to favor the merchant marine of that country by giving ships a low net tonnage and thus a low basis upon which taxes, port and navigation charges are payable at home and abroad. Table VIII contains a statement of the net tonnage of the vessels that passed through the Suez Canal during the years 1891, 1892, 1893, and during each year from 1903 to 1912, inclusive. It will be noted that the net tonnage of the Suez Canal shipping was 71.2 per cent of the gross tonnage in 1891, 72 per cent in 1910, and 72.4 per cent in 1912. The gross tonnage of vessels under the Suez rules averages considerably larger than the gross tonnage as determined by the British rules and somewhat higher than the gross tonnage under the American rules. For most vessels the Suez net tonnage is higher than the net tonnage American registry, because the deductions which the Suez rules make for propelling power are less than are made by the American rules. TABLE VIII.-Gross and net tonnages of vessels that passed through the Suez Canal, 1891-1893 and 1903–1912. The details presented in this chapter show that net tonnage, though intended to express in a general way the vessel's tonnage or space available for cargo and passengers, varies largely for ships of the same size and type when measured under the rules of different countries. The United States Government is required by its treaty with Great Britain to treat the vessels of all nations with entire equality, so that there shall be no discrimination in respect of the conditions or charges of traffic, and it would doubtless be the policy of the Government to adhere to this principle even though there were no treaty establishing the principle. In order to treat all vessels alike in levying tolls it will be necessary to apply to all vessels the same measurement rules. It will not be possible to charge tolls upon the net tonnage of vessels as stated in their certificates of national registry. There must be a special set of Panama measurement rules. The principles that should control in the formulation of those rules are considered in the chapters that constitute Part II of this report. DETAILS OF THE DEDUCTIONS FROM GROSS TONNAGE TO DETERMINE THE NET TONNAGE of Vessels TO WHICH THE BRITISH, SUEZ, AMERICAN, AND GERMAN MEASUREMENT RULES WERE APPLIED.1 VESSELS TO WHICH THE MEASUREMENT RULES WERE APPLIED. The steamship Kentuckian is an American steamship, representative of the fleet of the American-Hawaiian Steamship Co., the largest American fleet which will make use of the canal. She is described as a three-decked ship, but Lloyd's Register describes her as a two-decked ship with deep framing and a shelter deck. The ship is a freight steamer with accommodations, however, for a number of cabin passengers. She carries 280,000 gallons of oil as fuel, the daily consumption being 10,000 gallons at a speed of about 11 knots. The British steamship Voltaire is a passenger and freight steamer belonging to the Lamport & Holt Line of the type in trade between New York and Rio Janeiro. She is a three-decked ship with 1,200 tons coal capacity, and on an average daily consumption of 60 tons steams at a speed of about 12 knots. The British steamship Stephen is a freight steamer, with accommodations for some passengers, of the type in trade between New York and the River Amazon, owned by the Booth Steamship Co. She has two decks and a shelter deck, with a coal capacity of 1,100 tons, and on 32 tons consumption per day has an average speed of about 11 knots. The steamship Santa Rosalia is a modern British well-deck cargo carrier, steaming 10 knots on a daily coal consumption of 33 tons, and has 1,896 tons coal capacity. The British steamship Kirkdale is a two-decked (spar deck) cargo steamer, steaming 10 knots on a daily coal consumption of 30 tons, with a coal capacity of 1,800 tons. The British steamship Ikala is a two-decked ship to which at New York the surveyor of customs appears to have added the bridge space, making substantially the difference between the American and British measurement. This bridge space was not included in the Suez Canal certificate issued in 1901. If, however, cargo should be carried in that space hereafter it would be added to the Suez measurement. The steamship Ikala is being converted into an oil-burning steamer. 1 These details are copied with certain changes and abbreviations from the statement submitted by the Commissioner of Navigation to the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce of the House of Representatives, Jan. 20, 1912. Consult Hearings before Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, House Doc. No. 680, 62d Cong., 2d sess., pp. 857-872. The note appended to Chapter IV, pages 63-69, contains the details concerning the gross tonnage of these vessels. vessels, although contained in the note appended to Chapter IV, is repeated here for convenient reference. The description of the The British steamship Tunstall is a one-decked (turret) steamer. The British steamship Benwood is a one-decked freighter. The bridge and poop were added to the gross tonnage at New York on the ground that they were permanent closed-in spaces. The German steamship Patricia, of the Hamburg-American Line, was built in 1899, and is a four-decked passenger and freight steamer, steaming from 12 to 13 knots, on a daily coal consumption of 96 tons, and has a coal capacity of 1,620 tons. The German steamship Duisburg is a cargo vessel of 12 knots; daily coal consumption, 40 tons; coal capacity, 1,000 tons; built for trade between Germany and Australia. Under the German and British laws, the bridge house and poop are reckoned as shelter spaces above the upper deck not permanently closed-in. The surveyor at New York, in November, 1910, treated the bridge and part of the poop as permanent closed-in spaces, adding 1,817 cubic meters to the vessel's gross tonnage. At Suez the entire poop and bridge are treated as closed-in, with a consequent addition of 2,173 cubic meters. Tonnage stated in the Suez Canal certificate, issued by the British Board of Trade, Mar. 30, 1911. Gross tonnage... Deductions: Berthing of crew. Berthing of officers. Doctor's cabin... Engineer's mess room.. Officers' bathroom.. Engineers' bathroom.. Galleys, cook houses, water-closets, and lavatories exclusively for use of officers and crew... Propelling power— Actual... Plus 75 per cent.. Total deductions.... Net tonnage.. Gross tonnage.. Deductions: Propelling power, 32 per cent.. Crew space... Master... Boatswain's stores. Chart house.. Water-ballast spaces.. Total deductions.. Net tonnage.. Tons. 8,7 76.56 77.83 50.51 7.74 8.91 3.23 2.50 19.48 27.19 1, 162.87 872. 15 2,035.02 2,232.41 THE BRITISH STEAMSHIP "STEPHEN." [Built of steel in 1910, on the Tyne.] Tonnage under the measurement rules of the United States. Tonnage stated in British certificate. 6,5 44.15 Tons. 5,470.32 1,750.50 141.27 9.22 17.71 4.73 34.91 1,958.34 3,5 1 1.98 Tons. 4,434.84 1,4 1 9.15 141.27 9.22 17.71 4.73 34.91 1 There being no omissions not authorized by the laws of the United States, the British tonnage was accepted by the New York surveyor. 1, 626.99 2,807.85 Tonnage stated in the Suez Canal certificate, issued by the British Board of Trade, Oct. 23, 1911. Tons. 5, 580. 17 Gross tonnage.. Deductions: Berthing of crew. Berthing of officers... Officers' and engineers' mess and bathrooms.. Galleys and cookhouses, water-closets and lavatories, exclusively for officers and crew. 59.79 38.86 7.64 11. 47 18.68 566.61 991.57 1, 128. 01 4, 452. 16 |