§ Sir David Priceasked the Minister for Trade what action he is taking with relation to the costs of safety requirements on transferring ships to the United Kingdom register.
§ Mr. SproatI am very concerned about representations on the costs of such transfers. I have received192W representations from the General Council of British Shipping and individual owners about the costs of transferring ships to the United Kingdom register. They claim that the costs of complying with United Kingdom safety requirements upon transfer of ships from other flags—that is, upon buying secondhand ships—are often higher than the corresponding costs incurred by their competitors in other countries. In view of the difficult competitive situation in shipping, and as part of my continuing efforts to take appropriate measures to halt the decline of the Merchant Navy, I am keen to avoid imposing any costs that are not demonstrably necessary. I am therefore setting up a working group to examine the whole area, and have invited the general council and the maritime trade unions to take part in this working group with the Department. The working group will concentrate on the way in which the statutory safety requirements are applied to ships being transferred to the United Kingdom register, with a view to minimising the burden of these requirements where possible.
§ Sir David Priceasked the Minister for Trade what action he is taking with relation to the costs of meeting the crew accommodation standards on transferring ships to the United Kingdom register.
§ Mr. SproatI am concerned about representations I have received from the General Council of British Shipping and individual owners about the costs of transferring ships to the United Kingdom register. I understand that one of the major factors in this may be the cost of improving crew accommodation to meet current standards. In view of the difficult competitive situation in shipping, and as part of my continuing efforts to take appropriate measures to halt the decline of the Merchant Navy, I am keen to avoid imposing any costs that are not demonstrably necessary. I am therefore setting up a working group to examine whether there are ways in which the burden of the requirements for certain standards of crew accommodation may be minimised, and have invited the maritime unions and the GCBS to participate with the Department in this.