Share of annexed merchant ships in the Treaty of Versailles

One of the most important and controversial aspects of the Treaty of Versailles was Part VIII, which outlined that Germany was chiefly responsible for all losses sustained by the Allies during the First World War, and therefore was responsible for the subsequent reparations. These reparations were not just in straightforward, financial terms, but also included the annexation of resources and materials belonging to the German government, with their value being subtracted from Germany's overall war debt. Part of this, in addition to the seized war ships, was the acquisition of much of Germany's merchant and fishing ships. This part of the treaty outlined what share of Germany's naval capacity the Allies felt entitled to, which included all merchant ships over 1,600 tons and half of all ships between 1,000 and 1,600 tons. Theoretically, these terms applied to all ships in Germany that did not belong to parties from the Allied nations, and all ships that belonged to a German party that was currently located in an Allied country or territory (including any ships currently under construction that matched these specifications).