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By the early 1970s, bad times were just around the corner.
70年代初期，貿易蕭條時期已經快要到來。
The world shipbuilding boom reached its peak in 1973,but that was the year of the Arab-lsraeli war, which was followed rapidly by the quadrupling of oil prices.
世界造船業的興盛期在1973年達到頂峰，但就在這一年爆發了阿以戰爭，緊接著石油價格暴漲了4倍。
By 1974, the industrialised world had begun its slide into the worst depression since the 1980s, and the shipping industry had entered its long years of crisis.
到1974年，世界各工業化國家開始進入30年代以來最嚴重的一次經濟大蕭條時期，海運業也隨之陷人了長期的危機之中。
The first to be affected were the oil-tanker fleets. As oil demand was cut back, charter rates plummeted, and the estuaries of the world became jammed with the steadily increasing numbers of moth-ball tankers.
在危機中首當其沖的是運油船只。由于石油需求量減少，油船包租率直線下降，于是，閑置不用的油輪越來越多，塞滿了世界各地的港口。
Norway and Greece suffered most. British ship owners had not become so involved in the tanker boom in the first place, so they were not so badly affected.
受害最嚴重者屬挪威和希臘。英國海運公司老板們起初在世界油輪發展高潮時期就沒有盲目地陷身其中跟著發展油輪業，因此，他們所受的影響還不是那么嚴重。
By 1976, the slump had begun to bite into the bulk-carrier trade.
到1976年，經濟蕭條已開始影響到駁船的生意了。
Bulk carriers are ships that carry dry cargo of one particular kind, such as sugar, coal or wheat, with iron ore being by far the most important.
駁船是指裝運某種干貨，如糖、煤或小麥等的船只，不過最主要的還是裝運鐵礦。
But with the world steel industry deep in the doldrums, who needed iron ore carriers?
可是，世界鋼鐵工業已陷于嚴重蕭條狀態，誰還需要運鐵礦的船只呢?
With its big bulk-carrier fleet, the British shipping industry now began to feel the pinch.
擁有大量駁船的英國海運界現在開始感受到危機的影響了。
Even though the slump spread fast into most shipping sectors, the British fleet was still a long way from bankruptcy.
盡管危機迅速蔓延到海運業的大多數部門，英國商船隊還遠未到達破產的境地。
The one area which has weathered the economic storms best is that controlled by the conferences: the scheduled freight-liner services -and that is where Britain's fleet is strongly entrenched.
在克服這次經濟危機中表現得最為出色的部門是由船業協會控制著的定期貨輪運輸業務--這也是英國商船隊把守得最堅固的一塊陣地。
