[2] When he was 21 he set up his own shipbroking business, and later became an owner of steamships through his company, Joseph Hoult & Co, in Castle Street, Liverpool.
[4] The inquiry had been prompted by the shipwreck in 1894 of the under-manned vessel Port Yarrock, which foundered in Brandon Bay with the loss of 20 lives.
They claimed that any such Law would disadvantage British ships against their foreign competitors, and would be too rigid as improvements in propulsion and navigation technology reduced the necessary levels.
[6] In December of that year, he told the annual dinner of the Liverpool Shipbrokers' Benevolent Society that British business had been hampered by too much regulation, and called for the abolition of light dues.
[13] The Secretary of State for War, Col. J. E. B. Seely was slow to respond to the proposal, but visited Liverpool in July to announce that any such venture should be organised centrally.
[16] On 12 March, the idea was criticised by the ship-owner Lord Inverclyde, who pointed out that ramming a U-boat endangered the ship and invalidated its insurance.