§ 64. Mr. Awberyasked the Minister of Transport what is the tonnage of tankers and dry cargo vessels now being constructed abroad which will fly the British flag when they are put into commission; and in what countries these ships are being built.
§ Mr. HayWe have no official information, but I understand that 16 tankers totalling 293,000 tons gross, and 15 other ships totalling 70,000 tons gross are under construction abroad for British shipowners. They are being built in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands and Sweden.
§ 69. Mr. Wingfield Digbyasked the Minister of Transport if he will state the tonnage of foreign orders placed with the ship-building industry this year to the nearest convenient date, and the tonnage ordered by British shipowners from foreign yards, for the equivalent period.
§ Mr. MarplesForeign orders placed in the United Kingdom this year up to the end of October amounted to some 9,000 tons gross. In addition, orders from the Commonwealth up to the end of September amounted to some 14,000 tons gross. I have no official information about the tonnage ordered by British shipowners from foreign yards, but I understand that to the end of September it totalled about 197,000 tons gross, of which 70 per cent. was tankers.