§ Mr. BOTTOMLEYasked the President of the Board of Trade whether at the time of her loss with an entirely British crew the vessel "Flush" was registered at Lloyd's as the property of Bulk Oil Transports, Incorporated, of New York City; whether, on 20th April, Messrs. Christoffer and Hennevig, Incorporated, of New York, the agents of this company, informed the widow of a member of the crew that the owners were, in fact, the Newfoundland Shipbuilding Company, which, owing to its being in liquidation, had no funds available to assist those bereaved by the catastrophe; whether on 28th May the liquidator of the Newfoundland Shipbuilding Company wrote to the Blyth Urban District Council, from which port the crew were enlisted, that some time previous to her loss the vessel had been sold to Moller and Pohrson, of Stockholm, Sweden, and that consequently all claims for compensation, etc., would have to be made to that firm; and whether, in view of the great suffering which arises from this confusion of liability, he will in future require that cash guarantees should be deposited in England by foreign shipowners desirous of recruiting British crews against any possible liability owing to loss of life or accident?
§ Mr. BRIDGEMANI am aware of the various circumstances referred to by the hon. Member. According to the information at present available, the steamship "Flush" was at the date when the crew were engaged at Blyth—namely, 16th2410W October, 1919—owned by the Newfoundland Shipbuilding Company, and registered as a British ship at St. John's, Newfoundland. I have now received a telegram from the Registrar of Shipping at St. John's to the effect that she was transferred to the Swedish flag on the 14th November, 1919. This was the date on which she sailed from Malmo, and she was lost about 23rd November. It is not clear whether, at the date of loss, the necessary steps had been taken by those concerned to make the transfer of ownership and flag effective, but this point is being further examined. There seems no doubt that the vessel was a British ship at the time when the crew were engaged at Blyth on 16th October last.