HC Deb 23 July 1958 vol 592 cc597-8

Lords Amendment: After Amendment last inserted, insert New Clause "C":

  1. C.—(1) Part VIII of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894, shall apply to any structure, whether completed or in course of completion, launched and intended for use in navigation as a ship or part of a ship, and the expression "ship" in the said Part VIII and in this Act shall be construed accordingly.
  2. (2) The said Part VIII shall apply to any British ship notwithstanding that it has not yet been registered.
  3. (3) The tonnage of any ship or structure to which the said Part VIII applies by virtue of this section shall, for the purposes of that 598 Part, be ascertained as provided by subsection (2) of section five hundred and three of the said Act of 1894 with regard to foreign ships.

Mr. Neave

I beg to move, That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said Amendment.

This Clause relates specifically to unregistered ships and ships in course of completion or construction and extends the application of limitation of liability to structures which have been launched provided they are intended to be used in navigation as ships or parts of a ship. There is a reference to a part of a ship. It is intended to cover the launching of a ship in two parts or of new parts of a damaged ship. There are one or two other matters, and if any hon. Member wishes to raise questions I will answer them, by leave of the House.

Sir F. Soskice

There was, I noted, in another place some considerable textual criticism of this new Clause, centring around the reference to parts of a ship. I would simply ask the Government whether they have since the debate in another place given full consideration to the questions which were raised by noble lords and whether they are satisfied that the language chosen in this Amendment is quite the best which can be conceived and that the doubts to which expression was given really should not turn out so formidable as they at first sight seemed.

11.45 p.m.

Mr. Neave

Yes, Sir. I can give that assurance. I have just said that the reference to a part of a ship, which was what worried certain noble Lords, is intended to cover the separate launching of two parts of a ship and new parts of a damaged ship.

Question put and agreed to.