[单项选择] Today, the British fleet no longer dominates the high seas: our share of the world’’s merchant fleet has fallen from 40 per cent to around eight per cent. But, in terms of tonnage, the British merchant navy has continued to expand. It can now carry over two-thirds more than it could in 1914, and, almost alone among our traditional industries, shipping has remained a major success story. Unlike the rest of British industry, ship-owners invested big. In the early 1960s, the shipping companies made full use of government grants and tax concessions. Between 1966 and 1976, British shipping lines invested at a rate of over ￡ 1 million a day. By the early 1970s, it seemed that, somewhere in the world, a new British ship was being launched every week. 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. For some time now, British shipping managers have stayed ahead of the competiti
A. Government grants and tax concessions.
B. Big investment by British shipping lines.
C. Favorable international competition environment.
D. The "conference".