38. Mr. Vaneasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs how many of the ships wilfully and illegally sunk by the Egyptians in the Suez Canal had been prepared as blockships.
§ Mr. Selwyn LloydThe Anglo-French salvage unit counted 22 wrecks in Port Said and the United Nations reported 16 wrecks south of El Cap. Our own information shows that one wreck, the "Akka," was deliberately prepared as a blockship, being filled with concrete and towed into a planned scuttling position in the channel. She presented a very difficult problem in salvage but has now been raised.
At Port Said most of the wrecks had apparently been sunk in haste and by means of explosives. All but four obstructed the fairway to a greater or lesser extent. The position of the wrecks indicated a plan to form a series of barriers athwart the channel. Explosives had been left on board several of the wrecks. United Nations reports show that explosives also held up salvage work south of El Cap.
Mr. VaneWill my right hon. and learned Friend send copies of that reply to Mr. Dulles and Mr. Hammarskjold?