HC Deb 18 December 1968 vol 775 cc381-2W
64. Dame Joan Vickers

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a detailed statement concerning the handing over of Her Majesty's Dockyard, Singapore, to the Government of Singapore, including the future rô les of the Royal Navy and that of Swan Hunter.

Mr. Reynolds:

On 1st December, 1968, the major part of H.M. Dockyard, Singapore was transferred to the Singapore Government for development as a commercial dockyard.

The Singapore Government have formed the Sembawang Shipyard (Private) Company to operate the commercial yard from the date of transfer and Messrs. Swan Hunter (International) Ltd. have been appointed managing agents to the company for the initial five years of operation.

With certain limited exceptions, where the Ministry of Defence has a continuing requirement for an installation or facilities and has retained ownership, all buildings in the area of transfer have been handed over free of charge together with plant and equipment (including the floating docks) not needed by the U.K. Services elsewhere and considered essential to enable the dockyard to continue to function as a going concern.

Some 3,500 of H.M. Dockyard's local labour force have been transferred to the Company, having received all due terminal benefits from H.M. Government: and 153 Navy Department personnel (3 Naval Officers and 150 U.K.-based civilians) have been lent to the Company on secondment terms.

In the initial stages of commercialisation the Company will be solely employed on naval repair and refitting work. Whilst no guarantee of future workload has been given to the Company, it is the intention, subject to satisfactory perfomance and price, and R.N. operational requirements, to place contracts with the dockyard for all ship repair and refit work which would have been undertaken in H.M. Dockyard had it remained in Ministry of Defence ownership. In view of this the Company have agreed to maintain in being the existing facilities for this purpose until informed that they are no longer required.

Until final withdrawal at the end of 1971, the Company will be dependent on the Ministry of Defence for the supply of a considerable range of services: these are being provided on a repayment basis.