Anchoring the economy

摘要

Throughout Britain's long - and for the most part glorious - maritime history, the civilian maritime sector and the Royal Navy have had a symbiotic relationship, each made possible by the presence of the other.The Royal Navy ensured the safety of merchant vessels and unencumbered trade routes while that trade, and the revenues from it, paid for a powerful Royal Navy, which at its height was twice the size of that of any other nation.Although the days when a pint at the Ship & Anchor would be spoiled by the arrival of a press gang are mercifully long gone, that co-dependent relationship still exists, albeit on a reduced scale. And we ignore it at our peril.