International Shipping Conference

The archive has two series: firstly, a volume of minutes and correspondence survives from the 1935 conference on rationalisation, and secondly several reports either issued by or regarding the International Shipping Conference, 1921-1922, 1924, 1928-1929.

The International Shipping Conference first met in 1921, inaugurated by the Chamber of Shipping. Its main aim was the promotion of international co-operation within the shipping industry. The second conference, in 1924, was attended by delegates from fourteen different countries, each representing foreign shipowners' organisations. Such matters as shipping taxation, deck cargoes and safety at sea were discussed, and a separate conference on the latter was held in 1929. During the Second World War, the International Shipping Conference was largely suspended, but after the conflict the organisation was reformed. Some changes were made to its structure, but essentially it remained a body representative of private ownership in shipping. One of its major concerns continued to be the issue of safety at sea, and the result was an international Inter-Governmental conference, convened by the British Government in 1948, for the revision of the earlier Safety of Life at Sea Convention.

Reference: Intenational Shipping Conference reports, 1921-1922 (MSS.367/ISC/4/1/1); Chamber of Shipping Annual Reports, 1922-1923, 1946-1947, 1947-1948 (MSS.367/COS/1/4/8, 32, 33).

This collection is available to researchers by appointment at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick. See http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/library/mrc/using/

Link to full catalogue: http://mrc-catalogue.warwick.ac.uk/records/ISC

The archive was deposited by the Chamber of Shipping in December 1995, as part of the larger British Shipping Federation collection.