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Unlike the rest of British industry, ship-owners invested big. In the early 1960s, the shipping companies cashed in on government grants and tax concessions.
與英國其他各行業情形不同的是，海運業的船主們花了大本 錢投資。60年代初期，英國的海運公司利用政府資助和減稅等有利條件大發其財。
Between 1966 and 1976, British shipping lines invested at a rate of over 1 million a day. By the early 1970s, it seemed that, some-where in the world, a new British ship was being launched every week.
在1966至1976年間，英國海運業的投資率每天竟超 過100萬英鎊。到70年代初，幾乎每個星期就有一艘新的英國船只 在世界的某個港口下水。
The result is that Britain has a very modern fleet: the average age of our merchant ships is only six years, and over half the fleet is under five years old.
結果是英國擁有了一支非常現代化的商業船隊：我們的船只的平均年齡只有6年，而且一半以上的船只投 入使用還不到五年。
For some time now, British shipping managers have stayed ahead of the competition by investing in the most sophisticated ships.
在目前這一階段，英國海運業的經營者們在投 資建造最先進的船只這方面是走在了其他國家的競爭對手的前頭。
The other major factor which has played a key role in the dominance of the British merchant navy is an institution invented by the British well over 100 years ago: the conference.
英國商船隊得以稱雄的另一個重要因素是英國人100多年前首創的一種組織："商船協會"
In the middle of the 19th century, competition between sailing-ships and steam-ships became out-throat, and price cutting ruined many long-established companies.
19世紀中葉，帆船與汽船之間的競爭愈演愈烈，已到了你死我 活的程度，由競爭所帶來的降價使得許多歷史悠久的船運公司紛紛破產。
So the ship owners got together to establish a more settled system, and they set up a system of price fixing. In other words, every possible type of cargo had a price, which all owners agreed to charge.
于是，船運公司老板們聯合起來，共同建立起一種比較穩定的行業秩序，并訂立了一個航運價格管理制度。換言之，每一種需要運載的貨物都有一個由全體船主商定的統一價格。
It was, in fact, a cartel, though the British ship owners gave it the more dignified name of a conference.
這實際上是一種卡特爾組織，但英國船主們卻給它取了"船業協會"這么一個更文雅的名稱。
The system has certainly stood the test of time. Today, there are about 300 conferences governing the trade-routes of the world, and the British still play a major role.
這種制度無疑是經受住了時間的考驗。今天，世界上總共大約有300多家這樣的船業協會控制著全球各地的貿易運輸線.但英國的船業協會依然占有著主導地位。
By reducing competition, shipping conferences have taken some of the risk out of the dodgy business of moving goods by sea.
通過緩和同行業的競爭，船業協會為海上運輸這種風險性極大的行業減去了一部分風險。
They make it harder, perhaps, to make a big killing in good times, because you have to share the trade with other conference members.
它也許會使其成員公司在貿易景氣的時候難以暴發橫財，因為你得與其他成員公司分享生意機會;
But they make it easier to weather the bad times, because there is no mad, competitive scramble for the available trade.
但在生意蕭條時期，協會卻能幫助其成員公司比較順利地渡過難關，因為在現有的生意范圍內不存在瘋狂的、不擇手段的傾軋。
