Government and the British Shipping Industry in the Later Twentieth Century

Abstract

From the vantage point of the twenty-first century the history of Britain’s shipping over the previous century may seem one of a long process of decline – ‘ebb tide’ in the words of one historian.¹ In 1900 approaching half of the world’s tonnage was under the British flag. In 2000 British owners’ share of world shipping, whether vessels were registered in the UK or elsewhere, was 2.58%, putting it in tenth place.² This change in Britain’s maritime status was not, however, a gradual process. In 1967 the UK flagged fleet was still the third largest in the world and continuing to grow, albeit more slowly than its major competitors. It then went into free fall, shrinking from its historic peak of 1,682 vessels in 1975 to 693 vessels ten years later. By 1995 there were just 365 vessels of over 500 tons flying the British flag.