At the present time there are five regular lines of steamships sailing from St. John’s—the Allan Line, the Canadian and Newfoundland Steamship Company, the Red Cross Line, the Black Diamond and the Ross Lines. Besides these, a steamer plies regularly between Halifax and the western ports of Newfoundland; and two local steamers ply between St. John’s and the principal ports north, south and west.
The total number of steamers registered in St. John’s is thirty-two, with a gross tonnage of 9,272 tons. About 1,500 vessels arrive and depart annually from the several ports of Newfoundland. The sealing fleet comprises some twenty steamers, with a united tonnage of 6,230 tons, and crews numbering 4,680 men. The first steamers to engage in the seal fishing were the Bloodhound and the Wolf in 1862. The former arrived with 3,000 seals, and the latter with only 1,300. The largest catch of seals recorded was in 1844, when 685,530 were captured. The cod-fishing industry is carried on by sailing schooners. The annual catch in the Newfoundland waters is about 1,350,000 quintals of 112 pounds. But the total amount of cod caught in North American waters is estimated at 3,700,000 quintals annually. Allowing fifty fish to a quintal, we have the enormous number of 185,000,000 fish caught every year. And still they continue to multiply and replenish the sea!
As yet no steamers have been built in Newfoundland.
General Summary.
The total number of vessels on the registry books of the Dominion on December 31st, 1896, was 7,279, with a gross tonnage of 789,299 tons. Of that number 1,762 were steamboats, with a gross tonnage of 251,176 tons.[72] The steam tonnage of the Dominion is divided about as follows: Ontario, 41.1 per cent.; Quebec, 32.3 per cent.; British Columbia, 10 per cent.; Nova Scotia, 7.9 per cent.; New Brunswick, 3.8 per cent.; Manitoba, 2.6 per cent.; Prince Edward Island 2 per cent.
The total number of steamers registered and enrolled in the United States in 1896 (including steam yachts, barges, etc.), was 6,595 vessels, with a tonnage of 2,307,208 gross tons.[73]
The total number of steam vessels in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, over 100 tons gross, recorded in Lloyds Register for 1896-97, was 6,508; their gross tonnage was 9,968,573 and their net tonnage, 6,143,282. Including the British Colonies, the number of steam vessels is 7,373 and their gross tonnage, 10,508,443 tons.[74] Of these only about 420 are built of wood, 3,883 are built of iron and the rest of steel.
The World’s Steamers.
According to Lloyds Register above quoted, the total number of steam vessels, over 100 tons, in the world in 1897 was 13,652, and their gross tonnage, 17,737,825 tons. The number of wooden steamers was 1,163; of iron, 7,099, and 5,390 of steel.
The British Empire owns 54 per cent. of the entire merchant marine tonnage of the world, estimated by Lloyds at 25,614,089 tons gross; she owns 62 per cent. of the entire merchant marine steam tonnage.