The United States Maritime Commission in effort to provide a well balanced merchant fleet and adequate shipping services under the American flag on all routes essential for maintaining the flow of foreign commerce has declared a total of thirty-two trade routes essential to carry out its program and has recommended the services that should be maintained to provide adequate American flag participation in our foreign commerce on these routes. The Commission recognizes, however, that the services advocated by it may fail to accomplish the desired results and are therefore not to be considered as final. Changes in recommended services and establishment of additional services will be considered by the Commission as occasion arises. The future prospects of Delaware River ports relative to American flag shipping services are indicated by the following tables which show: (1) the routes that include Philadelphia as a regular port of call with the privilege of calling at Chester and other Delaware River points as traffic offers, (2) the routes that include Chester and other ports on the Delaware River as ports of call whenever traffic is offered. Sailing 133 13 U.S. Ports of Call Foreign Ports of Call New York (other Atlantic ports as traffic offers) Via Panama Canal, to Manila, Hong Kong, Soerabaja, 13 do Batavia, Singapore, Belawan, return via Sues Canal. Privileged to call at French Indo China and Siam as traffic offers. Via Panama Canal, to Manila, Hong Kong, Singapore, Via Suez Canal to Singapore, Batavia, Soerabaja, Via Alexandria and Near East Mediterranean ports and Suez Canal and ports on Red Sea and Gulf of Aden to Bombay, Karachi, Malabar Coast, Colombo and Calcutta (Rangoon and other Bay of Bengal ports as traffic offers.) Return via Colombo, Aden and Red Sea, as traffic offers and Suez Canal. Via Alexandria and Near East Mediterranean ports STEAMSHIP SERVICES As of March 31, 1948, regular steamship services between Chester and U.S. Pacific Coast ports were maintained by 4 steamship lines of which 2 lines provided semi-monthly sailings; one line 5 sailings quarterly; and one line 4 sailings quarterly. On an annual basis this amounted to 84 scheduled sailings which indicated an average sailing approximately every 4 days in the intercoastal trade. There were no regularly scheduled steamship services to or from the port of Chester in the foreign, non-contiguous or coastwise trades. Steamship lines which serve the port of Philadelphia will, however, in most cases call at Chester or other Delaware River ports whenever sufficient cargo is offered. In addition there are a number of lines which call at irregular intervals to load or discharge cargo at Chester or other points on the Delaware River. An analysis of the table following indicates that as of April 30, 1948, approximately 66 steamship lines provided service available to the Delaware River ports, in intercoastal, coastwise, non-contiguous, and foreign commerce. The foreign trade was served by 54 lines; the intercoastal trade by 7 lines; non-contiguous by 4 lines; and the coastwise trade by 2 lines. One line which operated vessels in the foreign and non-contiguous trades is included in both categories. Of the 54 steamship lines serving the Delaware River ports in foreign commerce, 19 lines operated vessels under the American flag and 35 under various foreign flags. Foreign flag vessels were operated by 12 British lines; 15 Danish; 4 Swedish; 3 Norwegian; 2 Portuguese; and one line each under the flag of Argentina, Brazil, Holland, Finland, France, Greece, India, Netherlands, and the Philippines. Detailed data on steamship services at Delaware River ports are contained in the following table. |