§ Mr. Tugendhatasked the Secretary of State for Industry (1) by what date the ships covered by the Anglo-Iranian trade agreements must be delivered to Iran; and whether the United Kingdom is liable to penalty payments if that deadline is not met, or whether the contract lapses;
286W(2) how many ships and of what types and tonnages are to be supplied to Iran under the terms of the recent Anglo-Iranian trade agreement;
(3) how many ships and of what types and tonnages to be supplied to Iran under the terms of the recent Anglo-Iranian trade agreement are to be built in the United Kingdom; and how many and of what types and tonnages will be vessels already in use.
§ Mr. Meacher:During his visit to Teheran in January 1975, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade negotiated an outline agreement for the supply to Iran of 15 general cargo ships, each of 18,000–20,000 tons deadweight. A delegation from the United Kingdom shipbuilding industry, led by a senior official from my Department, went to Teheran on 28th February for discussions with the Iranian Government and the Arya National Shipping Line. At the conclusion of the discussions Arya confirmed its intention to order these 15 ships from United Kingdom shipbuilders, subject to agreement on the detailed specification, prices and delivery dates. It will not be possible to give more information until the further negotiations, which will take several weeks, have been successfully concluded. I understand that in addition to these new ships Arya may be interested in purchasing existing ships and is in touch with United Kingdom shipbrokers. The Government are not involved in this aspect of its requirements.