§ Sir F. FLANNERYasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Shipping Controller the total number of ships formerly 699W belonging to Germany which have been surrendered under the Peace Treaty, and how many of such ships have a deadweight capacity of 2,000 tons and upwards; whether it is the intention of the Government to offer these ships for sale to British citizens by public auction or whether their sale will be negotiated privately; and when are they likely to be available for purchase?
§ Colonel L. WILSONAs stated in my reply of yesterday to the hon. and gallant Member for Central Hull (Lieut.-Commander Kenworthy), 378 vessels of about 1,900,000 gross tons have been delivered under the Armistice arrangements and ceded under the terms of the Peace Treaty up to the 19th June—of these only 14 vessels are less than 2,000 deadweight tons capacity. It is not at present possible to say how many of these vessels will be available for sale by Great Britain or when it will be possible for the sales to commence. Due notice of the conditions of sale will, however, be given as soon as possible.