§ Mr. HARTSHORNasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of
TABLE "A." Statement showing cost und sale prices of ships built to Government Account. — Built in United Kingdom. Built Abroad. No. Cost Price (estimated). Sale Price (net). Profit (estimated). No. Cost Price (estimated). Sale Price (net). Loss (estimated). £ £ £ £ £ £ Sales to British Owners 156 21,300,000 28,300,000 7,000,000 18 6,600,000 2,600,000 4,000,000 Sales to Foreign Owners. 104 15,000,000 19,600,000 4,600,000 101 19,800,000 14,600,000 5,200,000 Totals 260 36,300,000 47,900,000 11,600,000 119 26,400,000 17,200,000 9,200,000
Estimated profit … £11,600,000 Net estimated profit, £2,400,000. Estimated profit … 9,200,000 Note:—1. The actual cost price of ships built cannot yet be stated as final accounts have not yet been received in all cases, and in other cases are still under examination. 2. Small craft are not included in above figures.
810WShipping if he will now give a table showing all sales of ships by his Department, whether originally bought or built for Government account, showing their cost, the price at which they were sold, the names of the purchasers, and giving the present value of the ships.
§ The PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY to the MINISTRY OF SHIPPING (Colonel Leslie Wilson)The accompanying table "A" gives particulars of the estimated total cost and sale prices of vessels, contracted for by the Shipping Controller; it is not yet possible to give exact figures in a large number of cases as the final accounts are either still under examination or have not yet been received from the builders. Table "B" shows how the various contracts for the construction of ships have been disposed of. In addition to vessels contracted for, a number of vessels were bought or otherwise acquired; most of these have now been disposed of, but comparative figures of cost and sale prices are not yet available. My hon. Friend will understand the difficulty in answering that part of his question with reference to the names of the purchasers in view of the very large number of ships sold, and I regret I am not in a position to state what the present value of these ships might be.
The following are the tables referred to:
811W
TABLE "B." Statement showing disposal of contracts placed by Shipping Controller for construction of ships. 260 Ships built in U.K.) Sold (see table A). 119 Ships built abroad 20 Ships sunk. 18 Ships not yet sold. 155 Contracts transferred under agreements with Lord Inchcape, and instalments paid refunded. 120 Contracts transferred to builders under agreements with Lord Inchcape, and instalments paid refunded. 129 Contracts cancelled. 821 Total.