§ 1. Commander Keransasked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty what is the present maximum working capacity of his Department's floating dock at Malta.
§ The Civil Lord of the Admiralty (Mr. C. Ian Orr-Ewing)Nominally 50,000 tons. The actual weight of any ship which can be lifted is dependent on special factors and each vessel has to be considered individually.
§ Commander KeransI have been given to understand that this Admiralty floating dock has never been used to its full capacity because of some structural defects. I was in command of the frigate which escorted the floating dock in two parts in 1947. Can my hon. Friend tell me if what I have been told is so?
§ Mr. Orr-EwingI am afraid there are special factors which come in—for instance, the length and distribution of the weight of the ship to be lifted. There is also the draught over blocks. In our present anchorage, because of silting, the draught over blocks at maximum sinkage is only 36 ft. instead of a normal designed draught of 40 ft. Those are some of the special factors which have to be taken into account.
§ Mr. WallCan the hon. Gentleman say whether when Messrs. Bailey took over they were informed that it could lift up to 70,000 tons? Can my hon. Friend confirm that?
§ Mr. Orr-EwingI am afraid I cannot without notice.