TRAWLER "KINGSTON PERIDOT" (Hansard, 31 January 1968)

§ The Minister of State, Board of Trade (Mr. J. P. W. Mallalieu)
It is with profound regret that, for the second time in a week, I have to tell the House that a fishing trawler has gone missing.
The steam trawler "Kingston Peridot", with a crew of 18, left her home port of Hull on 10th January for the Arctic fishing grounds off North East Iceland. She was last contacted on 26th January off North Iceland, but when the further contact which had been expected on 28th January was not received, ships in the area were immediately asked to try to make contact. When this proved fruitless, an air search and shore and sea search operations were ordered yesterday, 30th January, and they are continuing today.
I am keeping in close touch with events and am awaiting the results of the search before considering what further action should be taken. Once again I offer my sympathy, and, if I may, that of the House, to the families who are being subjected to this dreadful anxiety.

§ Mr. Johnson
I thank my hon. Friend. Is he aware of the mounting anxiety felt by all sections of the people of Hull in that this is, or may be, our second major disaster in a week? I am sure that the House will join in sending deepest sympathy to all the anxious people in Hull and to all those who are suffering, particularly the wives of the missing men.
Since the apparent loss of the "Kingston Peridot" has come such a short time after another loss, will my hon. Friend now decide, and decide finally, on the formal, special inquiry he talked about last week in reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull, North 1348 (Mr. McNamara)? All people in Hull would be grateful if he would expedite the findings.
If I may put one further point to my hon. Friend, on Monday he talked about a circular being sent out 18 months ago requesting that these vessels should report their position daily. Normally that has been done. However, will he make it statutory that they do it, and for it to be done every 12 hours rather than every 24 hours?

§ Mr. Mallalieu
On my hon. Friend's second point, about making the reporting of positions statutory, I am seriously considering that. It would also be important to make it statutory that the owners should report any failure of contact as soon as possible. On that, I am sending out a circular forthwith to all owners urging them, at the moment that they lose contact, to notify the coastguards.
My hon. Friend referred to a special inquiry, and I imagine that he is talking about the special inquiry which will be automatic once the trawler is presumed lost. We must wait until that is decided.

§ Mr. Wall
Is the Minister of State aware that right hon. and hon. Members on this side of the House would wish to be associated with the expressions of sympathy and anxiety for all relatives of the men missing in this trawler? Will he confirm that there can be no possible connection between this missing vessel and the "St. Romanus", missing last week, though fishing in entirely different areas? Secondly, may I support the view that some such organisation as the naval "Sub-smash" might be put into operation for trawlers, making it necessary for them to report every 24 hours, so that immediate action can be taken if they fail to do so?

§ Mr. Mallalieu
I confirm that there is no connection between the two. They were widely separated. I have already dealt with the hon. Gentleman's second point.

§ Mr. Fletcher-Cooke
May I associate my right hon. and hon. Friends with the expressions of sympathy to the relatives of those involved in yet another disaster? Trawlers seem to be going down like ninepins, and one is prompted to ask 1349 why. Is there some failure of communication which has not yet emerged? Was there a wireless operator aboard on this occasion, as, apparently, there was not on the last occasion?

§ Mr. Mallalieu
There was a wireless operator on board on this occasion. Thank goodness, it is not true to say that they are going down like ninepins. It is tragic that there should be these two incidents in one week. I believe that weather conditions in both areas were pretty bad, but we do not know what happened.

§ Mr. McNamara
I thank my hon. Friend and other hon. Members for the commiseration extended to the people of Hull in this second tragic loss in the last week. Is he aware that in both cases, the two major items for safety, the radio and the life rafts, seem to have failed, and that, in the second case, there was at least a 24-hour gap between the lack of communication and the setting up of a search? Finally, may I underline the anxiety being felt throughout the country and urge him to come to the House and make a statement about both tragedies as soon as possible?

§ Mr. Mallalieu
I will certainly undertake to do that. We do not know whether it was a failure in radio communication. On my hon. Friend's point about delay in the case of the second trawler, as far as I can see there was no delay. All ships in the area were alerted the moment that there was failure of contact.

§ Mr. Prior
Is the Minister of State aware that the whole House will support any measures considered necessary to help stop this sort of tragedy? Is he also aware that it is very important that nothing should be done to cause additional anxiety to the families of those at present going to sea, or, indeed, to the fishermen themselves? We should be very careful, when looking at the problem, not to raise unnecessary 1350 anxieties in the fishing industry as a whole.

§ Mr. Mallalieu
I agree with the hon. Gentleman on both points.

§ Mr. Ellis
Does my hon. Friend accept that the events of yesterday and today show clearly that a large number of questions need answering? While we appreciate that he is still making inquiries, and notwithstanding the longer survey which he is making into the problem, will he come to the House as soon as possible with such suggestions as he may have so that they may be put into operation immediately?

§ Mr. Mallalieu
Certain steps are being taken today and tomorrow. I hope to be able to make an announcement to the House, perhaps on Friday, in reply to the question raised by the hon. Member for Macclesfield (Sir A. V. Harvey) on Monday.

§ Sir A. V. Harvey
Will the hon. Gentleman take into account that, in the past, at any rate, a number of trawler skippers have been reluctant to make use of their radios for fear of giving away their positions, particularly if they are on good fishing grounds? Will he ensure that safety considerations come first?

§ Mr. Mallalieu
I know about that, and I agree that safety comes first. If it is necessary to make it a statutory obligation, we will do so without regard to other considerations.

§ Mr. Clegg
Is the Minister of State quite sure that enough aeroplanes are engaged in search for the missing trawler?

§ Mr. Mallalieu
Particularly in the case of the second one, both the R.A.F. and the United States Air Force operating from Iceland were most co-operative.

§ Mr. Speaker
Order.