§ 32. Mr. STOREYasked the President of the Board of Trade whether foreign vessels trading on the British coast are manned in accordance with British standards and the crews paid at Maritime Board rates; and, if not, whether he proposes to take any action to enforce such standards?
§ Mr. RUNCIMANBy Article 48 of the International Safety Convention, contracting Governments undertake to ensure that, from the point of view of safety of life at sea, their ships shall be sufficiently and efficiently manned. The Board of Trade can intervene in regard to the manning of a foreign ship sailing from a United Kingdom port only if by reason of undermanning the ship is unfit to proceed to sea without serious danger to human life. As regards rates of pay, the National Maritime Board rates apply only to vessels whose crews are engaged in the United Kingdom on Board of Trade articles.
§ Mr. STOREYDoes the right hon. Gentleman think that powers should not be taken to enforce Maritime Board rates of wages on those foreign vessels to compete solely with British vessels?
§ Mr. RUNCIMANIt has been found impracticable to enforce rates of wages upon foreign vessels.
§ 33. Mr. STOREYasked the President of the Board of Trade the number of foreign motor vessels engaged regularly in the British coasting tramp trade?
§ Mr. RUNCIMANThe precise number of foreign vessels engaged in the British coasting trade during any year is not known, since the navigation returns furnished to the Board of Trade include the repeated voyages of the vessels concerned. These returns, which do not distinguish tramp vessels, show that during the year 1935 the aggregate of the arrivals and departures with cargo of foreign motor vessels in the coasting trade of the United Kingdom was 2,708, out of a total for all foreign vessels of 3,246, as compared with a corresponding total for all British vessels of 199,939.
§ Mr. STOREYIs my right hon. Friend aware of a recent case in which the master of a foreign vessel was fined for overloading, and an official of the right hon. Gentleman's Department gave evidence that no fewer than 62 Dutch motor vessels engaged solely in the British coasting trade came from Hull regularly, and does he not think that action should be taken to protect British coasting tramp vessels from such competition?
§ 34. Mr. STOREYasked the President of the Board of Trade the percentage of coastwise traffic carried in foreign vessels to total coastwise traffic other than that carried in liners and large colliers, for each of the last three years?
§ Mr. RUNCIMANI regret that the information desired is not available.
§ Brigadier-General Sir HENRY CROFTWould it not be in the national interest to obtain information on these lines?
§ Mr. RUNCIMANI have no doubt it would, but the information for which I was asked was the percentage of coastwise traffic carried in foreign vessels to total coastwise traffic other than that carried in liners and large colliers, for each of the last three years, and that information is not available.
§ Mr. SHINWELLIs it not time that the Board of Trade brought itself up to date and gave information of this kind?