§ Mr. Sproatasked the Secretary of State for Industry which shipbuilding yards in, respectively, England, Scotland, Wales and Ulster have gone bankrupt since 1970; how much public money granted or loaned towards the cost of vessels under construction at the time of bankruptcy was lost in each year, as a result of the bankruptcy; and how much money towards the cost of building vessels then under construction was lost from private sources.
§ Mr. KaufmanThe following shipbuilding companies have gone into liquidation since 1970:
England
- Ryton Marine.
- Bideford Shipyard Ltd.
- Porthleven Shipyard Ltd.
- Whitehall Shipyard Ltd.
Scotland
- Argyll Ship and Boatbuilding Co. Ltd
- Smith & Hutton (Boatbuilders) Ltd.
- Bute Ship Dock Co. Ltd.
- Upper Clyde Shipbuilders.
- Burntisland Shipbuilding Co. Ltd.
Northern Ireland and Wales: None.
Apart from a sum of £1,836 paid in 1974, which may still be recovered, no public money granted or loaned towards the cost of vessels under construction has been lost. I regret that I am unable to provide information about the losses from private sources.
§ Mr. John Evansasked the Secretary of State for Industry what steps he intends to take to encourage capital investment in the British shipbuilding and ship repairing and marine engineering industry and so secure and maintain the British 2W industries' expertise in the building and repairing of product tankers.
§ Mr. KaufmanThe Government are providing assistance under the Industry Act for several of the major investment projects currently being undertaken by British shipyards, including those which build product tankers. The planning of future investment in the shipbuilding, ship repairing and marine engineering industries will be one of the first tasks of the new corporation proposed in the Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Bill.
§ Mrs. Winifred Ewingasked the Secretary of State for Industry what representations he has received from the Ship and Boatbuilders National Federation with regard to the orders, inquiries and employment situation; and what reply he has sent.
§ Mr. KaufmanMy right hon. and noble Friend the Minister of State has received a letter from the Ship and Boat-builders National Federation enclosing the results of a survey relating to orders, inquiries and employment in the boat-building industry in May 1975. He has asked the federation to continue to keep the Government informed of the situation in the industry.
§ Mr. John Evansasked the Secretary of State for Industry (1) what is the total amount of tonnage of product tankers on order in the world's shipyards; how many ships the tonnage represents; and if he will list orders by country;
(2) if he will list in the Official Report the tonnage and number of product tankers on order in each British shipyard;
(3) how many product tankers are on order in foreign shipyards for British owners;
(4) how many product tankers are on order in British shipyards for (a) British shipowners and (b) foreign shipowners.
§ Mr. KaufmanConsistent information on orders for oil product tankers published in "The Motor Ship" quarterly survey "Ships on Order", a copy of which is available in the Library of the House, is summarised below: 3W
OIL PRODUCT TANKERS REPORTED ON ORDER AT 31ST MARCH 1975 United Kingdom yards Foreign yards All yards Number Number Number Deadweight '000 tons Ordered for: United Kingdom Registration … 18 6 — — Foreign Registration … 2 — — — All … 20 — 147 4,785 Eleven are on order at Cammell Laird, six at Swan Hunter, two at Harland and Wolff and one at Scott Lithgow, with total deadweight tonnages of 518, 189, 132 and 32 thousand respectively.
Abroad, 27 are on order in Norway, 26 in Sweden, 12 in Germany, 11 in Japan, nine in Italy, eight in the Netherlands, seven in Yugoslavia, six each in Denmark and Finland, five in France, three each in Belgium and Pakistan, two in Canada and one each in Australia and Greece.
The information may not be wholly accurate to the extent that shipbuilders delay reporting full details of orders and subsequent changes.
§ Mr. John Evansasked the Secretary of State for Industry (1) how many large crude carriers on order in British shipyards have been cancelled by the shipbuilder; and how much compensation was paid in each case;
(2) how many large crude carriers on order in foreign shipyards for British shipowners have been cancelled by the shipyards; and how much compensation was paid in each case;
(3) how many large crude carriers on order in foreign shipyards for British shipowners have been cancelled by the shipowner; and how much compensation was paid in each case;
(4) how many large crude carriers, on order in British shipyards, have been cancelled by (a) British shipowners and (b) foreign shipowners; and how much compensation has been paid to each shipbuilder.
§ Mr. KaufmanThe available information is that the only three crude carriers of over 200,000 deadweight tons for United Kingdom registration which were cancelled between April 1974 and March 1975 were on order in United Kingdom yards and were cancelled by the shipbuilders. No such carriers ordered for foreign registration in United Kingdom4W yards were cancelled. The amount of compensation is a matter for the commercial judgment of the parties involved. Figures are not available. Cancellations are notified in the quarterly supplement "World Ships On Order" to "Fairplay International", a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.