§ Mr. Trotterasked the Secretary of State for Transport how many trading ships over 500 gross registered tons were ordered in 1984 for United Kingdom ownership and registration (a) in United Kingdom yards and (b) in foreign yards; what in each case was the total deadweight; and if he will estimate what number and deadweight of orders would have been necessary to keep the fleet at its present size.
§ Mr. RidleyThe number and total deadweight tonnage of trading ships over 500 gross registered tonnes ordered for United Kingdom registration in 1984 were:
Number of Vessels Thousand deadweight tons (estimated) United Kingdom yards 8 85 Foreign yards 4 19 We do not have the information requested on ownership because the owner of a vessel is not known until registration takes place. It is not possible to give a reliable estimate of the orders which would be required for a particular size of fleet because the size of a fleet is determined by the purchases of second-hand vessels and other changes in registration, as well as deliveries of new tonnage.