§ 62. Mr. R. Gibsonasked the President of the Board of Trade how many, and what tonnage of British ships were transferred to foreign flags during 1938; how many, and what tonnage of these are still in commission; how many, and what tonnage have been or are being broken up; and what are the corresponding figures for 1937 and 1936, respectively?
§ The Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade (Mr. Cross)As regards the number and tonnage of ships transferred to foreign flags, I would refer the hon. and learned Member to the replies given to him on 18th April and 27th March. As regards the remainder of the question, according to reports received by the Registrar-General of Shipping and Seamen, 30 of the ships sold in 1938, with a gross tonnage of 76,000 tons, were purchased by foreign buyers for breaking up. The corresponding figures for the years 1937 and 1936 were 65 ships of 132,000 tons gross and 33 ships of 143,000 tons gross, respectively. My right hon. Friend has no information whether the ships sold for trading purposes are still in commission.