§ MR. DRAGEI beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether any Report has recently been received at the Foreign Office with regard to the progress of the new harbour which has been constructed by the Russian Government at Ekaterina on the Murman Coast; whether he can state how far Ekaterina may be considered an ice-free port; and whether when completed the harbour at Ekaterina will be reserved for naval purposes or open to vessels engaged in the White Sea and North Siberian trade?
MR. CURZONInformation respecting Ekaterina harbour will be found in a Report from Her Majesty's Vice-Consul at Archangel, which will very shortly be laid before Parliament. It is to the effect that progress is being rapidly made with the works, and that the port is to be opened by the autumn of next year. Ekaterina is believed to be practically an ice-free port, the ice being so thin as not to impede navigation. It does not appear whether the harbour will be open to all vessels engaged in the White Sea and North Siberian trade, but it is stated that it will be a commercial port.