§ Mr. Michael McNair-Wilsonasked the Secretary of State for Trade how many orders for ships were placed by British shipowners in 1980; and what has been the annual order rate for the past 10 years.
§ Mr. TebbitThe information is as follows:
238W
Merchant ships (100 gross registered tons and over) ordered for United Kingdom registration Number of ships Gross registered tons 000s 1970 345 8,113 1971 127 2,862 1972 157 2,633 1973 288 6,207 1974 220 1,433 1975 69 338 1976 90 499 1977 102 434
Number of ships Gross registered tons 000s 1978 58 225 1979 91 836 1980 (January-September) 78 1,048