WATER TRANSPORTATION 535 
Oil Burning Vessels. : 
Of the tonnage included in Table 23, oil burning vessels have in- 
creased from 500 of 1,720,000 gross tons in 1914 to 3,500 of 17,800,000 
gross tons in 1925, including motorships increasing from 300 of 235,000 
gross tons to 2,145 of 2,714,000 gross tons. The increase in the 
world’s oil burning fleet since 1914 about equals the tonnage by 
which the world’s whole fleet has grown in that time, but many 
older steamers, of course, were converted from coal to oil. The 
market for coal as ship’s fuel has hardly held its own since 1914, 
while the world’s tanker fleet, a large fraction of which transports 
oil for ship fuel, has grown from 365 ships of 1,440,000 gross tons in 
“hat year to 940 of 5,180,000 gross tons in 1925. 
Oversea Shipping Facilities of the World. 
Excluding shipping used exclusively or chiefly for internal and 
coasting traffic, the world’s transoceanic and interoceanic shipping 
services are almost wholly carried on by 5,575 ocean steamers each 
of 4,000 gross tons or over, and aggregating 22,210,000 net tons 
(the “net ton” is 100 cubic feet available for cargo and passengers). 
Toward this total ocean liners of 12 knots speed or over contribute 
1,640 of 8,170,000 net tons; ocean liners under 12 knots and owned 
mainly by the corporations operating the faster steamers number 
1,735 of 6,316,000 net tons, and tank steamers 700 of 2,970,000 net 
tons. Included with the liners are the merchant fleets of the govern- 
ments of the United States, Australia, Brazil, and Canada. These 
4,075 liners and tankers are operated by less than 150 highly 
organized steamship companies, industrial companies, or govern- 
ment agencies. Most of these individual organizations are inter- 
related with one or more others financially or associated with others 
in steamship conferences. The 1,500 general trading steamers of 
1,000 gross tons or over, often called “tramps,” are owned by many 
small concerns and individuals and aggregate 4,755,000 net tons. 
The preponderance of liners in handling traffic is greater than these 
figures indicate because the general traders are nearly all of 10 knots 
speed or less while liners by higher speed, attaining in some instances 
20 knots or more, increase their total and relative carrying power. 
When speed is taken into the account, the liner organizations furnish 
31 per cent, the general traders only 19 per cent. of transoceanic and 
interoceanic shipping facilities. 
Of the shipping facilities outlined, steamers between 4,000 and 
5,000 gross tons make up less than 17 per cent of the tonnage, and 
ships of this size find diminishing employment in transoceanic trades. 
Two-thirds of the tonnage of liners of 12 knots or more and between 
1,000 and 5,000 gross tons, was built before 1914, while almost the 
same proportion of such liner tonnage of 5.000 tons. or more wae