Is this why we lost the merchant navy?

[Captain Kong]

I have discovered this piece of paper from 2000, where the Merchant Navy was lost by the UNITED NATIONS
Sounds very true.
Click on thumbnail and then VIEW and ZOOM 150% to make it easier to read.

[Neil Morton]

Hi Brian, I woke up this morning switched on the 'puter and read your post above. I have always known the United Nations had a lot to answer for;however this really does take the cake and indeed the bread and butter. The last quarter of the Twentieth Century will go down in the history books as the Era of the Bottom Line. Bankers and accountants and shifty lawyers have done for the Western World what Lenin and his doctrine could not.
Still what the heck, the sun is shining and I'm off for a good long walk hopefully it will disperse the cloud of doom and gloom that seems to have shrouded me for a while.
Regards Neil.

[Keith at Tregenna]

I should be able to save your document and put through an optical reader tomorrow, with luck will paste all content here, hoping this may be of help ?

K.

[happy daze john in oz]

While I can agree to some extent with that comment, the fact is there are those out there who will do anything to manipulate how we live. I happened to come across a piece about B.Brown of the Greens here in Oz. He is among a group of political leaders who are attempting to bring social engineering to a new level. A world government with a world currency. No more famine as all countries will have to share, no more nuclear weapons or power, and all this to be run by a handful who will be at the top of the heap.
Social engineering has been going on for many years now, mainly in countriues with strong social or Labour style governments. Germany may have lost the last war, but they are now one of the biggest winner from EU and would no doubt benifit from a world realm.

[Ivan Cloherty]

Would our government do what the USGovt has done

New Act becomes law

"American mariners job protection Act" this was brought in to strengthen the Jones Act where-in Cargoes between American ports (includes Alaska,Hawai etc) have to be carried in US flagged vessels. 46 Waivers have been issued this year to allow foreign flag vessels (usually USA owned companies under FOC), this has been seen damaging to US interests and especially US seafarers so in future if waivers issed to foreign flagged vessels will/may have to carry US Seamen (if available) to man these vessels granted Waivers

Our Govt doesn't even know its got a MN and imagine the lawyers having a field day with the "yuman rites" act putting all those lovely foreigners out of work, we wouldn't have a chance of having the same Govt protection for our UK seamen.

Whoever said "The meek shall inherit the earth" was completely wrong

[Celsis]

I don't actually believe this. It seems like an opinion rather than a fact.

Fact, before 1980 it was harder for a compnay to flag out. After 1980, and laissez faire capitalism, it became a lot easier. Many guys can tell you about coming back from the Falklands and paying off on the forrard gangway while a Bangladeshi crew was joining in the rear..........

Another one of Thatchers brillian ideas. God, how I hate that woman!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Capt Bill Davies]

The impact from the Unions is noticeably missing from above posts and I believe that they must take a great share of any blame that might be apportioned.

Bill

[happy daze john in oz]

Did we lose the British Merchant Navy, or simply misplace it? Was it the ravages of time and new inovations, or the misuse in earlier days by the likes of some wharfies? Life is like a railway journey, there are stations along the way, sometimes we change train, sometimes we continue on. It would appaear to me the MN just changed trains at one of the mnay stations along the way.

[Ivan Cloherty]

I don't actually believe this. It seems like an opinion rather than a fact.

Fact, before 1980 it was harder for a compnay to flag out. After 1980, and laissez faire capitalism, it became a lot easier. Many guys can tell you about coming back from the Falklands and paying off on the forrard gangway while a Bangladeshi crew was joining in the rear..........

Another one of Thatchers brillian ideas. God, how I hate that woman!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi Celsis

You haven't said what you actually don't believe

[Ivan Cloherty]

The impact from the Unions is noticeably missing from above posts and I believe that they must take a great share of any blame that might be apportioned.

Bill

Hi Bill

There is another post where-in the loss of the MN has been discussed in depth, laying blame at economics of scale, larger ships smaller crews, containerisation. The unions shooting themselves in the foot, but the union leaders still having nice union homes and cars whilst their members are jobless. Seamens strikes which tied up ships when shippers needed to move goods. UK dockers strikes which forced shippers to consider using foreign flag ships, who gave them good service.Ex colonial countries whether they be British, French, Spanish, Portuguese etc all wanting their own merchant navies to protect their foreign exchange earnings and carry their own exports.

There was and still is a multiple set of factors that contributed to the "natural" decline of the size of our merchant navy, but there are those who still want to lay the blame at the door of one woman who wasn't even in politics when the natural evolution started its course in the new world order after WWII.