§ Mr. Sillarsasked the Secretary of State for Energy what is his estimate of the additional number of oil supply ships required for North Sea oil activities in the next three years; and how many of these ships are currently under construction in Scottish or United Kingdom yards.
§ Dr. J. Dickson MabonI know of no plans by supply boat operators to expand their North Sea fleets during the next three years. At present there is a surplus of supply boats available for operations in the North Sea. I am not aware that any supply boats are currently under construction in United Kingdom yards.
§ Mr. Sillarsasked the Secretary of State for Energy what is his estimate of the number of private companies now operating supply ships in relation to North Sea oil developments; how many ships they 679W are currently employing; and of these how many were built in Scottish yards.
§ Dr. J. Dickson MabonThere are currently some 16 companies offering supply service boats for work in the North Sea. At present some 140 boats are operating on the United Kingdom Continental Shelf. Six of these were built in Scottish yards.