----------------------------------------------------------------+ | Vessels Owned. | Percentage Lost. | |------+-----------+-------------------+ Flag. | | | Vessels | Tonnage | | No. | Tons.[1] | Owned. | Owned. | -------------------------+--------------------------------------+ United Kingdom. | 9227 |12,117,957 | 2.99 | 2.36 | British Colonies. | 2307 | 1,124,682 | 3.38 | 3.70 | United States of America.| 3220 | 2,164,753 | 4.72 | 4.06 | French. | 1164 | 1,094,752 | 6.01 | 4.02 | German. | 1730 | 1,886,812 | 6.76 | 4.38 | Norwegian. | 3041 | 1,659,012 | 7.43 | 6.46 | -------------------------+------+-----------+---------+---------+ [Footnote 1: Gross tonnage for steamers; net for sailing vessels.] When we turn from the contemplation of the complete fleets, and differentiate between steam and sail, we find that the United Kingdom no longer holds the premier position, being surpassed, as regards steam, both by the colonies and by the United States. Steam vessels are safer than sailing craft all over the world, partly, of course, because their average age is less. The losses they suffered last year are as follows: TOTAL LOSSES OF STEAM VESSELS IN 1895. -------------------------+--------------------------+-------------------+ | Vessels Owned. | Percentage Lost. | +--------------------------+---------+---------+ Flag. | | | | Vessels | Tonnage | | No. | Net. | Gross. | Owned. | Owned. | -------------------------+------+---------+---------+---------+---------+ United Kingdom. | 6446 |5,993,666|9,695,976| 3.33 | 2.13 | British Colonies. | 874 | 329,845| 542,025| 1.72 | 1.69 | United States of America.| 626 | 660,784| 920,672| 2.23 | 1.93 | French. | 571 | 467,553| 903,105| 4.20 | 3.42 | German. | 953 | 910,567|1,343,357| 3.04 | 2.64 | Norwegian. | 586 | 285,349| 446,384| 2.56 | 2.87 | -------------------------+------+---------+---------+---------+---------+ The United Kingdom here stands third in the list, and curiously it only stands second under the head of number of sailing ships lost, while it is first as regards sailing tonnage lost. The sailing tonnage of the United Kingdom is only about 20 per cent. of the total, while in the colonies it is about 52 per cent. The following are the figures: TOTAL LOSSES OF SAILING VESSELS IN 1895.