§ 14. Sir G. Nabarroasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that, whereas Section 209 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1894 requires every British foreign-going ship with 100 or more on board to carry a qualified medical practitioner, foreign ships operating from British ports are subject to no such statutory requirement; and whether, in the interests of British nationals sailing in foreign ships, he will include appropriate provisions to remedy this state of affairs when introducing revisionary shipping legislation.
§ Mr. J. P. W. MallalieuI find that the requirements of other maritime countries are, in fact, broadly similar to those which apply to British foreign-going ships.
§ Sir G. NabarroFirst, do the Greeks conform to these requirements? Second, could the hon. Gentleman do something with travel agencies in this country advertising, particularly, cruises from British ports for which foreign ships carrying more than 100 passengers are used to warn would-be passengers and cruisers that there may be no doctor on board? Is not this a wise precaution?
§ Mr. MallalieuThe Greek regulations provide that passenger ships must carry a doctor if they will be more than four days between ports. On the second point, the travel agents already have the information, and I agree that it would be extremely wise on the part of any intending passenger who is nervous about it to find out whether the ship on which he is proposing to sail has a doctor.