THE NAVAL CONTROL OF SHIPPING Michael Lloyd

?Having learned the lessons from the First World War, merchant shipping was placed under Admiralty control on 26th August 1939, and the first convoy sailed on 2nd September. A day later the UK declared war. Four days later, the first regular series of convoys began with the Naval Control of Shipping (NCSORG) formed to direct the operational side of the convoy organisation.

?The Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) was a department of the?British Government?formed on 1 May 1941. It was formed by merging the?Ministry of Shipping?and the Ministry of Transport, bringing responsibility for both shipping and land transport to a single department, and easing the problems of coordination of transport in wartime. From this point onwards, MoWT decided upon the route sailed and the cargo carried by every ship.

?The defense of the convoy at sea was the responsibility of the Royal Navy, but with few available escorts, the convoys mostly sailed with poorly armed merchant cruisers not equipped to tackle the submarine threat during the first year of the war. It was no wonder that the U-boat commanders referred to this period as the ‘happy time.’

?In 1951, with the Cold War underway, NATO issued a secret document, SGM-85-51-NATO, now declassified, entitled Naval Control of Shipping, outlining the organisation of this control within the NATO alliance. It is a well-thought-out document. And briefly covers as stated;

2. The term "Naval Control of Shipping" as used herein includes all matters pertaining to (1) convoy organisation and control, (2) routing, (3) reporting, and (4) diversion, as related to the management and direction of the movement of shipping of all nations in wartime.

It does not include cognizance over the general employment and in-port functions such as allocation and assignment of shipping, harbour movements, loading and unloading, etc., which are functions of other agencies. Nor does it include cognizance or control over the assignment, employment, operations, or tactical procedures of the. Patrol or escort forces which are related but separate functions of the Naval Command.

?At that time, we were in the cold war with the very distinct possibility of WW111 around the corner. In the UK, this organisation was eventually formed along the lines?specified, officers?were designated for administration, courses were formed for instruction and?exercised and this?continued for a time with a revival in the 70s dying away again together with the cold war gradually running down.

?Many things have changed since then. Our Merchant Navy has all but gone, along with the seamen, leaving those ships that are in British ownership under various flags and mostly foreign crews. Even?the essential?ferries and ROROs are now foreign manned. General cargo ships?are rare, being mostly bulk and container.?The?ports also have changed,?concentrating shipping on a few rather than the many of the past. Coastal shipping has also almost?all but gone?

??The Russian War continues and, regardless of all the optimists, shows no sign of abatement with both sides planning their spring offensives and inflexible in their demands. If the Russians open another front in the North out of Belarus, that could widen the conflict and possibly increase the danger of the NATO countries on their borders drawn in. I am aware that being a purely defensive organisation, this would not commit other NATO countries to be drawn in but we already seem to be in what could be termed as a rather chilly war with a cold war and worse waiting around the corner. It could be a very dangerous year.

?It is inconceivable that we could allow Russia, as the aggressor, a victory, but as the war continues, equipment supplies to Ukraine will inevitably escalate to heavier weapons even possibly including aircraft and long-range missiles capable of bringing Russian cities within range.?At the same time, we will need to strengthen our NATO defenses in Europe.

Rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him.??Sun Tzu

This means a major logistical endeavour for those supporting Ukraine. Strange how the logistics of the seaways are taken for granted.?Perhaps now is the time for the navies and governments to dust off the old NATO document and read it again. As usual, we will be leaning heavily on American taxpayers as most of the supplies will come from there. But much has changed.?

The submarine threat has decreased, but the missile threat may be worse. Will the foreign crews remain with?a threat of nuclear attack? Can we quickly replace them, especially on the essential ferries? Can the ferry decks support the weight of heavy battle tanks? Have the ports the capability of offloading heavy equipment that cannot fit the containers? Do we know what Russian officers and crews are even now on our ships? Can we overcome the loss of satellites for navigation and communications?

What small ports can be adapted??It may be easiest to say discharge everything in Rotterdam or Hamburg but that could tend to provide the most tempting targets as would any large port with heavy ship movement.?Same as large square convoys. We may have to consider protected lanes with ships a?good?distance apart or sailing independently. Either way, we have no convoy escorts if the carriers have to be protected. Hopefully, if required, our American friends can again fill the gap.

It may be a good idea for those responsible to check that some of these questions can be addressed and that our wartime shipping organisation can be updated to function in a workable fashion. While the Royal Navy may have done so, I am more concerned with the civilian side of our civil service if the immigrant, health service, and police dysfunctionalities are anything to go by.

?I am not a politician and my naval service is long in the past. Hopefully, such preparations will not be required. Maybe these things are already being planned but maybes and hope are not good enough. This coming year is going to be?hard?for all of us.?Better to be prepared and not need the plans than to be unprepared if the worst occurs.

“My logisticians are a humourless lot … they know if my campaign fails, they are the first ones I will slay.”

– Alexander

I would suggest that with such an incentive, possibly Alexanders Civil Service functioned a little more efficiently than ours!